Even though he won’t appear in the highly-anticipated Black Panther sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Daniel Kaluuya is still excited to support his former co-stars and see the movie as a fan.
According to Variety, while on the red carpet for Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul, which he’s a producer on, the Get Out actor had an enthusiastic reaction to the recently released trailer for the next trip to Wakanda.
“Of course, I’ve seen it,” Kaluuya told Variety. “It’s amazing.”
The first footage from the movie shows Shuri, Ramonda, M’Baku, Okoye and Nakia dealing with their grief over losing T’Challa. Excitement for the film is so high, the video racked up 172 million views in 24 hours.
Scheduling conflicts with the Jordan Peele hit Nope prevented Kaluuya from returning in the sequel. “It’s what’s best for the story, what’s best for the film,” he said. “I’m excited for it. I’m excited to watch it.”
When we last saw his traitorous war dog W’Kabi, he was surrendering to Okoye following his failed coup attempt. His character did not appear in Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame.
When asked whether his character can still return in a future MCU outing, the Oscar-nominee gave the standard secretive Marvel answer. “You know I can’t tell you!” he joked. “You’re supposed to start with that!”
Obviously, none of us knows what’s in store for the MCU, but I find it hard to believe that Ryan Coogler and Kevin Feige don’t have plans for an actor like Daniel Kaluuya. The loss of T’Challa and the importance of the multiverse opens the door for a number of possibilities for W’Kabi.
With a Disney+ series focused on Wakanda and more crossover films set for release, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll eventually get that long overdue closure between Okoye and W’Kabi, because a conversation definitely needs to happen.
Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Martin Freeman and Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters Nov. 11.