Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Winston Duke opened up about the future of the movie franchise.
In an interview with Esquire published on Monday, Duke, who plays M’Baku in the movie, spoke about the possibility of a remake.
“There’s no way they’ll never remake Black Panther in the future. There’s no way that the saga and interpretation of T’Challa, King of Wakanda, will end. He is canon. So trust that it’ll come. But allow this to be a human experience,” he said.
He also spoke about his frustration with fans who are persistent on replacing Chadwick Boseman, who played King T’Challa in the movie, after his death from colon cancer in 2020.
“They center their own need for a character when none of this would be possible if the people who brought this to life didn’t participate, from behind the scenes to in front of it,” he said.
#BlackPanther made him an overnight celebrity. Now he's back with a major role in #WakandaForever—plus he walked in Rihanna's latest fashion show. Welcome to the Era of @Winston_Duke. @hunteryharris writes: https://t.co/NPKReEPGfO pic.twitter.com/LIHyL3lMeh
— Esquire (@esquire) November 14, 2022
Duke also shared that “when he passed away,”[the sequel] was supposed to start shooting in a month or two.”
Duke is not the only co-star grieving the loss of Boseman.
Lupita Nyong’o, who plays Nakia in the movie, got candid about how she felt after Boseman’s death.
“I experienced a whole lot of grief and disillusionment,” she said.
She also added that his death left her with a lot of questions.
“’What is life about?’ and ‘How do we move forward?’ and ‘What does it all mean at the end of the day?’ and ‘What is this make-believe, and why is it worthwhile?'” She said.
Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri, Boseman’s sister, in the film also spoke about the loss and how the cast is coping.
“It was a collective mourning, and we held each other very close and respected what each other would need at different moments,” she said.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is out in theaters now.