Ryan Coogler Explains What Happened To Daniel Kaluuya’s Character W'Kabi In ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’
With only days to go til the release Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in theaters, Ryan Coogler is revealing why one of the characters from the initial Marvel film isn’t making an appearance in the sequel.
During an interview with CinemaBlend, Coogler shared that W’Kabi (played by Daniel Kaluuya) won’t physically appear in the film, but that he’s still lurking around Wakanda.
"That's a great question. He's basically banished, but still within Wakanda's borders, if that makes sense. It's one line that refers to him still being alive," said Coogler when asked about Kaluuya’s character.
Kaluuya previously noted that he didn’t appear in Wakanda Forever because of a scheduling conflict he had with the filming of his sci-fi movie Nope that debuted earlier this year. He also told The Hollywood Reporter that he didn’t want to disappoint fans, which is why he kept hush about not being involved.
"If I said anything, people would be really disappointed," he told the outlet. "That's how I feel about it. I think people will be disappointed. They don't want to be spoiled. They're surprised in whatever will happen. That's what was amazing about the first one."
W’Kabi was seen in the original Black Panther as a villain of some sort. Furious that both King T’Chaka (John Kani) and King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) failed to provide justice after Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) murdered his father, he aligned himself with Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) when the soldier crossed Wakanda’s border with Klaue’s dead body. He also fought as part of Killmonger’s army.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is out in theaters Friday, November 11 with a stellar cast including Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, and Angela Bassett.
