PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHANIQWA JARVIS, STYLING BY SHIBON KENNEDY
‘Can we play it again?’ asks Danai Gurira as the final bars of the music drift across the set. She sings along to Solange Knowles’ anthemic 'Almeda': ‘Black skin, black braids / Black waves, black days / Black baes, black things / These are Black-owned things / Black faith still can’t be washed away.’
The song plays again and again on a loop in the airy studio, tucked away from the Los Angeles heatwave outside. Gurira and her Black Panther co-stars, Letitia Wright and Lupita Nyong’o, are dressed in Alaïa, Balmain and Jean Paul Gaultier, sashaying and laughing in front of the flashing camera despite a long day of shooting. Today has followed a packed schedule of promotional appearances at Comic Con as they move toward the premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the latest film in the record-breaking Marvel franchise that in 2018 introduced the world to the technologically advanced, Afrofuturistic nation. But the music has given them a second wind.
Although the trio share similarities in their confidence and poise, the differences in their personalities are clear. Gurira is meticulous and methodical; Nyong’o frank and thoughtful; Wright understated and warm. And all are completely in awe of one another, even after so many years of working together.
Nyong’o is excited for viewers to see the complexity of Black womanhood in the upcoming film. ‘We get to see them be fully human. That’s something that, as Black women, we are often not afforded on-screen. And there are so many female characters. All too often in these movies, there’s a token one or two. Here, you’re seeing a community.’
Wright agrees. ‘A beautiful moment was the three of us being able to do a scene together,’ she recalls. ‘I think that’s the first time that’s happened in the course of the franchise. It was a delicate scene, but there was so much beauty in it and so much laughter. We held each other up in ways that we didn’t get to do before. And to go through and just see Danai and Lupita in front of me, just working through their craft. Like, damn, I’m in a scene with Danai and Lupita. That’s sick. That’s really dope.’
When they sit down to chat individually, they each express a desire to continue the unapologetic celebration of Black excellence and the diaspora, which they began four years ago with the first Black Panther film: a cultural moment so pivotal that it ushered in what many have called a renaissance in Black storytelling in the industry. And perhaps, most of all, they’re intent on honouring the memory of Chadwick Boseman, who played the titular character, King T’Challa, and died from colon cancer in 2020, at the age of 43.
‘In the moments that we have joy, I just sense him kicking back, laughing with God, like, “Wow, look at my sisters,’’’ says Wright, who plays T’Challa’s younger sister Shuri, the princess of Wakanda. ‘We took all the love that we had for him and we put it into the film.’
Figuring out how to advance the Black Panther story without Boseman has been a painful process for all involved. It was a shock to many of the cast and crew when he died, with the film’s director, Ryan Coogler, writing in a heartfelt statement that, ‘[Boseman] shielded his collaborators from his suffering’, and that he wasn’t ‘privy to the details of his illness’. Coogler, who had planned for the next film in the series to expand Boseman’s role, has now reshaped the movie due to the actor’s absence.
‘Ryan had already walked me through what the film was going to be before Chadwick’s passing,’ says Nyong’o, who plays Nakia, a Wakandan spy – and T’Challa’s ex and ongoing love interest in the previous Marvel films. ‘When he called me months later to talk me through the new idea, taking into account the gravity of what we’d all gone through, I remember dreading the conversation. But then I felt a breath of relief when I heard what he had in store. He offered a raft out of a deep sea of grief.’
Unsurprisingly for a film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), its cast, prepped by an army of the studio’s publicists, have been instructed not to give away any spoilers. However, what we do know is that the film will be about the fight to protect Wakanda from interfering world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death, and the birth of a new Black Panther. Any other detailed information is a closely guarded secret.
But the day before these interviews, the first trailer is released. It’s an emotional odyssey that shows, among other things, Shuri dressed in mourning clothing, Nakia looking morosely out into the ocean, Queen Ramonda (played by Angela Bassett) declaring her sovereignty, as well as the water birth of a baby (could this be T’Challa’s heir and the new Black Panther?). It’s all soundtracked by an haunting cover of Bob Marley’s 'No Woman, No Cry' by the Nigerian singer Tems.
What’s clear in the trailer is that the women of Wakanda take centre stage, and it’s left many people speculating that the next Black Panther might just be a woman, with the new film casting aside the patrilineal monarchy of Wakanda’s first outing and bringing the nation into a new era. Not least because in the Marvel comics which the films are based on, Shuri does become the Black Panther on various occasions.
Nyong’o chuckles, mischievously. ‘We love the speculation,’ she says.
‘They’re not getting all of it right!’ chimes in Gurira, who plays Okoye, the general of Wakanda’s female warriors, the Dora Milaje.
‘No,’ concedes Nyong’o. ‘They haven’t guessed it at all.’
They’re acutely aware of the power of the Black female narrative in the context of the new film and speak about it with fervour – even though, as Nyong’o points out, there are limits to the power of representation and that ‘it cannot be the responsibility of film alone’ to make change in the world.
In the fictional Wakanda, it’s commonplace for women to hold positions of power, to have agency and to be fully involved in the trajectory of their nation. This is something Nyong’o thinks is crucially important in real life: a positive, empowered representation of women in an African country. Women who aren’t oppressed and who are flourishing.
Back in 2018, when Nyong’o and Gurira first discussed the role women would have in the film with Coogler, the pair spoke at length about gender inequity in various African countries.
‘I remember being kind of perturbed or disturbed by the fact that this wasn’t really addressed in the script,’ Nyong’o says. ‘Danai and I had resistance to that because we thought, no, we should make it more reflective of the real world.’ She laughs.
‘I am so glad he did not listen to our point, because this representation offers a paradigm that we are not used to as a world whose approach to gender dynamics is so encumbered by colonialism.’
Alongside Gurira, Nyong’o and Wright reprising their roles, Wakanda Forever also sees the development of new female characters, most notably Michaela Coel taking on the role of warrior Aneka, and Dominique Thorne as the superhero Ironheart. ‘They felt like a part of the family immediately,’ says Gurira with a smile, calling them both ‘beautifully talented women’, who brought their own ‘genius’ to the roles.
For Gurira, who campaigns around gender inequality and works as a playwright, it’s been gratifying to see the platform that Black Panther has afforded Black creatives, both on-screen but also behind the scenes. ‘Everyone’s role is very, very crucial. I am a big believer in that,’ she says.
But has the franchise, which broke box-office records and launched a thousand think pieces with its debut back in 2018, bolstered by a slick marketing campaign and the capitalist expertise of Disney behind it, really changed the film industry for the better in terms of Black storytelling? As the actor Anthony Mackie, who plays Sam Wilson/Falcon in the MCU, said in 2017, ‘The evolution of the superhero has meant the death of the movie star.’ Mackie was making the point that, due to the all-consuming popularity of superhero franchises and the audience’s insatiable appetite to see this genre of films, more progressive and experimental stories (and the actors and directors who want to tell them) were ultimately given less space to be created and flourish.
Could Black Panther be a phenomenon in and of itself; a starred footnote in the superhero-film industrial complex? The answer isn’t clear cut. ‘I did hear people talk about how [film projects] were made,’ says Gurira. ‘That there were things they could now bring forward and get further with as a result of the door that was opened through this movie. But, that said, I do think Hollywood has a great deal more to do and a great way further to go.’
Gurira speaks sharply about gatekeepers in the industry and lingers on the idea that many Black projects outside of the American context are still untold. ‘Who are the people who decide what makes it to the screen?’ she asks. ‘I don’t think that’s shifted even a teeny bit. And I think, once that shifts, you will see a difference in the landscape of the variety of stories.’ Her suspicions are backed up by the statistics. Research on Black representation in film and TV from business-management consultant McKinsey & Company in 2021 found that 92% of film executives are white.
And one creative executive even told the researchers: ‘When [studios are] looking for Black content, they’re looking for Wakanda or poverty, with no in-between.’
Still, Gurira, who made her name as Michonne on the TV series The Walking Dead (a role she is set to reprise in a 2023 spin-off), is now working from the inside. Her goal is to create shows from the African perspective. ‘You hope that Black Panther has opened folks’ eyes to the understanding that the world can receive African characters. It’s not a shocking thing, and they can be very resonant with people,’ she says. Gurira has a deep connection with her Black Panther character Okoye, keeping a replica spear and a number of annotated notebooks as mementos from the set.
In her work as a playwright, Gurira has collaborated with both Nyong’o and Wright on projects: Wright on The Convert at London’s Young Vic theatre in 2018, and with Nyong’o back in 2015, in her play Eclipsed. Nyong’o has previously described her and Gurira’s friendship as ‘kindred’, and on set you get a sense of their bond.
The trio are filming a video segment for ELLE and Nyong’o has been tasked with introducing it. She’s learning the lines on the spot and doing well, but after fluffing up a few takes, Gurira steps in with a smile: ‘Let me do it!’ Nyong’o acquiesces and Gurira gets the take in one. ‘I had time to practise,’ she says, laughing. When Wright also struggles to master the outro, Gurira is ready to take the lead again – but Wright ploughs on, giving it a last go. She nails it.
For Wright in particular, it feels as though she has grown up with her character. She joined the franchise in her early twenties, and will have just turned 29 when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is released in cinemas.
In the film, Wright says, Shuri has ‘a lot more responsibilities’ and is trying to find her purpose: ‘There is a huge maturity to her. It’s literally art imitating life because I’ve grown up so much myself in the past two years.’
Because of her busy work schedule, Wright feels as though she has some catching up to do on the more ‘normal’ parts of life. ‘We [actors] miss out because we work so hard and we give so much to the craft,’ she says. ‘I wish I knew that a little bit more at the beginning because I’m learning now that you need to have a balance. My friends are getting married, doing this, doing that, having these different experiences. I’m like, “Whoa”. I feel a little behind in that area. But I’m trying to catch up.’
While filming Wakanda Forever, Nyong’o explains that her aim was to ‘go with the flow’ and combat her tendency toward perfectionism. ‘It’s easy to get frazzled and stressed and short tempered and be justified,’ she says, laughing loudly. ‘I have been guilty of burning a fuse in the past. But it was important for me to check myself before I walked out every day and move with a spirit of allowance: to do what I can and forget the rest.’
Wright also fractured her shoulder and injured her head during a stunt gone wrong on set, suffering a bad concussion as a result. ‘I was in so much pain,’ she remembers. ‘But I said, “I want to finish the movie.” I had to just think of Chad. Because he did so much with what he was going through. That allowed me to gain so much strength.’
With this in mind, Wright says that Shuri has taught her resilience. ‘She literally taught me how to process emotion,’ she says, smiling. ‘It’s been a beautiful journey sharing that with the women in this project. There’s a theme that’s following us: female empowerment, on and off screen.’
Wright is making the most of trying her hand at new roles. She has since worked on back-to-back film and TV projects, including the recent The Silent Twins film, in which she played the joint lead in addition to working as a producer. ‘It is very challenging, but also engaging and rewarding to really learn how to create as a producer,’ she reflects. Wright strongly believes the culture of a set is defined by the producers, director and lead actors.
‘When I watched someone like Chadwick, he had a quiet power about him,' adds Nyong’o. 'He wasn’t out here making friends left, right and centre. He was very, very focused. But his focus was amicable and understood. And he was warm and measured at the same time.' It’s this energy that she wants to emulate moving forward.
Gurira agrees. ‘There was something very steadying about thinking about what he would do or how he would function,’ she says. ‘He had such an astounding presence and beautiful energy that was always grounding and generous and present – and yet could also be very quiet and calm.’
For Gurira, he is ‘our king’; for Wright ‘bro’; for Nyong’o, simply ‘Chadwick’. For all of them, Boseman is omnipresent, filtered through the people he worked with, who loved him for all that he was and knew they were loved in return.
‘You wish you held on to him longer, but he’s not here,’ says Wright, softly. ‘So all that you have is to piece together the memories and what he’s left behind. Make it beautiful and give it back to the world. I’m praying that this film helps all the people who have lost people.’
Gurira says the cast would ‘cling’ onto each other in moments of grief, and Wright agrees that they were each other’s pillars through it all. ‘Different seasons require different types of friends, and this season we didn’t need colleagues: we needed friends. We needed comfort and a great support system.’
I see this in action at the end of the shoot. Everyone is dancing – properly dancing now – and laughing and hugging each other, joining hands. Nyong’o is giving a bit of salsa, all footwork. Wright, like a quintessential Londoner, is loose-kneed. And Gurira is full of swag. You get the sense that these kind of giddy, celebratory moments between them have happened before – with people who aren’t just castmates, but friends, family, sisters.
ELLE's November issue is out on newsstands from October 6, 2022.
Every <em>Black Panther</em> Character Poster Is The Best Thing I Have Ever Seen
