‘Black Panther: Ryan Coogler and Danai Gurira from Wakanda Forever

Opening in theaters on November 11 is the Marvel Studios follow-up to the Oscar-nominated ‘Black Panther’, which is titled ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ and is once again directed by Ryan Coogler.

The new sequel follows the leaders of the kingdom of Wakanda as they fight to protect their country from invading forces following the death of King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), as a new threat emerges from the hidden underwater nation of Talokan ruled by Namor. (Tenokh Huerta).

The film features returning actors Letitia Wright as Shuri, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Michaela Coel as Aneka, and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, and new MCU actor Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Ryan Coogler and actress Danai Gurira about their work on ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,’ what audiences can expect, the challenges of making a sequel, the death of Chadwick Boseman, how Okoye is dealing with it. the loss of T’Challa, and what it means for Gurira to be a part of this beloved franchise.

Moviefone: For starters, Ryan, what would you say to the fans who have been waiting for this sequel as they prepare to sit down and watch it?

Ryan Coogler: Honestly, I’ll thank you for showing up, and then I’ll let the film speak for itself.

MF: Can you talk about the challenges as a director in making this sequel, and how the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman changed your plans for the film?

RC: I’m going to step back, and first talk about the non-specific challenges to our personal and professional loss and the tragedy he went through. The film is great. It has many locations and many things I have never done before. There are seven languages ​​spoken in the film, often by actors who are not fluent in the language they speak. I’m a monolingual myself, you know what I’m saying?

So, it’s a complicated process to direct languages ​​I’m not good at. We wanted to do things sonically in film that had never been done before, especially around vocals and music. We had to make building sets and costume designs, and lighting designs that worked for amphibious sets, dry-worked sets, wet-worked sets, sets that could go from dry to wet on camera.

We have a whole set of free diving and water stunts that all of our lead actors and all of our main supporting actors have to do. Everyone should be in the water at least 10 feet down most often. Some of our actors had never swam before, and that was something we had to work through together. As a director, I wasn’t comfortable being in the water like that before this film. I need to be comfortable, so I can direct it.

So, a lot of challenges overall, not to mention the challenges that Joe (Robert Cole) and I had to face in terms of writing this. But the challenges of losing our lead actor, friend, and leader are unique, and sometimes feel insurmountable. But quickly, once we got the hang of it, we were motivated to create something that could continue his personal legacy.

MF: Can you talk about the choice to introduce Namor and Ironheart to the MCU with this film, and the casting process for the roles?

RC: I feel blessed to be able to do that as a filmmaker. What’s great about Ironheart is, I worked with an actor whose style I was very familiar with in Dominique Thorne. She auditioned before for Shuri, so I met her through that audition process and she is very young, but very talented. I knew he would go places even though it didn’t work out for the role.

I worked with him again in a producing capacity, where the production company I founded was able to produce for Shaka King, ‘Judas and the Black Messiah.’ Shaka put Dominique into it, so we had to work together in that capacity. I saw her doing an amazing job as Judy Harmon in that film, and she was cast in another of my friends and colleagues, Barry Jenkins’ film (‘If Beale Street Could Talk’). He has some great scene work at it.

So when the opportunity arose for us to play Ironheart, I thought about Dominique, knowing what she can do, and knowing how she grew as an actress and as a young woman. So, I’m happy to make it happen. We also finished production of our Disney+ series (‘Ironheart’) which my company Proximity Media helped produce by Marvel Studios, so I’m really excited about that. I am honored to bring a character with such an incredible history in publishing to life cinematically.

With Namor, it is truly a gift for filmmakers to have the opportunity to bring Namor to the big screen after almost a century of history and publishing, and no representation of him either in film or television. So with pleasure and persistence I wanted to make sure we represented Namor in the right way, but in a way that could exist in the ‘Black Panther’ film.

MF: Danai, Okoye has been through a lot since the first film. He survived Blip, fought Thanos, and has now lost his King again. Can you talk about where Okoye was mentally and emotionally when the film started?

Gurira Fund: He must be in a really tough spot, but I don’t think he’s allowed himself to fully live in grief or process it because he has to take care of the kingdom. He had to take care of the remaining royal family. He has to make sure that things stay stable and the job is done.

They face a new threat, people are coming, trying to steal things. So he has a lot of things to focus on, and I don’t think he’s taking the time. But I don’t think he or most of the people in the film took the time to process their grief.

MF: This film is a very loving tribute to Chadwick Boseman, can you talk about how the emotions the characters experience in the film parallel how you all feel about losing your friend in real life?

Director General: I mean, everything is dedicated to his honor. As Ryan said when he first told us that we did it again, and that we did the second one without Chadwick, the clarity that “This is what he wants” was very clear to him, and then it became very clear. for us.

So it’s really a journey there for us and the way we’re anchored is knowing that. So Ryan was amazing at helping us navigate the story with that knowledge at the forefront. What he put together in relation to the story allowed us to feel grounded, to feel grounded despite the fact that it was a very difficult time in terms of our own grief process.

MF: What was it like working with Ryan Coogler again on this film and seeing him carry out his vision for this particular sequel?

Director General: It was extraordinary. There is no easy task. There is nothing easy in making this film. There’s absolutely nothing easy about that, and he has to stick to vision and clarity in it, and we have to be totally anchored by him. He was a holding force in that and guided the process in that way and helped us a lot.

There are times I don’t understand. At first, I didn’t understand what was happening to me. He’s like, “You’re going through grief. That’s sadness.” I was like, “Oh shit. That’s how it is.” There are times when you can’t even isolate what you’re dealing with until someone helps you see it and helps you understand the journey you need to take. I think in some ways it parallels my character.

MF: Lastly, what does it mean for you to be a part of this franchise, which is so loved by so many, and to be able to play this character during these films?

Director General: This means a lot. I grew up definitely not seeing this kind of narrative being told, and wondering why? I’ve always been the kid who’s like, “That doesn’t make sense to me.” You know what I mean? There are some people who are like, “Oh, that’s how it is.” I was like, “No, no, no. It doesn’t make sense.”

There’s no reason that people of different ethnicity or African descent don’t appear on an epic scale on screen, like white people. No reason. It’s something that’s always bothered me, and I don’t take it for what it is. I’m just excited. I’m just glad it showed up. The fact that I was a part of it on top of that felt like a crazy blessing.