Of all 29 movies that have been released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Panther, released in 2018, is the 6th highest grossing of all of them and the 13th highest grossing film of all time.
The release was nothing short of a cultural reset. It changed the way Hollywood and the global music industry looked at Africa and its exports. It also changed the way people saw Africa’s potential and reimagination of its colonization.
The sequel ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ shared its first teaser trailer on July 24, shortly after the Comic-Con announcements. The film which is scheduled to be released on November 11 will have Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba reprising their roles. They will also be joined by Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, and more.
While the list of full cast and crew is slowly being revealed, these are the Nigerians that have been confirmed to be involved so far:
Tems
- The trailer was scored to a mashup of a Tems’ cover of Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman, No Cry’ and Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Alright’.
- The emotional cover came as a surprise to everyone, lighting social media up.
Kamaru Usman
- Nigerian-American UFC welterweight champion Usman Kamaru will appear in the Black Panther sequel.
- UFC royalty, Daniel Cormier first mentioned Usman’s role during the UFC 277 weigh-in show. MMAfighting.com later confirmed the news.
- It is unknown what role he will play but his mixed martial arts skills may be an advantage.
- He has reportedly been a superhero movie fan as well as a Black Panther fan, posting a picture of him in the Black Panther suit on his Instagram in 2018.
This is an amazing feat for Tems and Usman. I’m glad they are both global icons that have given themselves to hard work and resilience against all odds. As Nigerians, we will keep giving our best regardless of recession and humble beginnings to becoming Global Assets.