Go beyond Wakanda with the cast of ‘Black Panther 2’.
The long-awaited sequel to Black Panther has been released and is a significant film for the MCU as a whole. It's set to conclude the MCU's expansive (and sometimes divisive) Phase 4 while also being a return to the world of Wakanda, featuring its population mourning the loss of T’Challa and navigating a world without him.
T’Challa's death occurred between films because of the tragic passing of his actor, Chadwick Boseman, in 2020. The film was written before his passing, yet it had to be entirely rewritten afterward. Boseman's loss is felt immensely in the real world and the world of the film, yet Black Panther 2 does bring back many other characters from the first movie, plus a few new additions. To celebrate its talented cast and their work outside the MCU, check out their other films if you enjoyed the performances in Black Panther 2.
Letitia Wright shot to stardom with her role as Shuri, T’Challa's younger sister, in Black Panther. Since then, she's been showing up in numerous parts outside the MCU, and it seems she will have a larger role going forward. From the trailers for the second Black Panther, it was apparent that she would have a bigger role in the film compared to the first one, and she's the top-billed actor in the sequel's ensemble cast.
Her best role, however, might be that of Altheia Jones in the Steve McQueen movie, Mangrove (one of five he directed for the anthology series Small Axe). It's a historical drama about the Mangrove Nine, a group of Black British activists who were unjustly arrested and tried for inciting a riot, all because of institutional racism by the police. The trial was dramatic, widely publicized, and covered well in Mangrove, with Wright giving a great performance as one of the lead activists on trial.
Lupita Nyong'o plays Nakia, a Wakandan spy who also used to be in a relationship with T’Challa. Nyong'o is an actor who's already had a wide range of roles outside the Black Panther movies, with one of her first big roles—that of Patsey in 12 Years a Slave—being one that earned her an Oscar
It's an outstanding performance in an excellent movie, but it's certainly a difficult film to watch: it pulls no punches in its story about a Black man who's sold into slavery. The film's power was further recognized with critical acclaim and two more Oscars—Best Screenplay and Best Picture—and stood as one of the most challenging and important historical films released in recent memory.
Jordan Peele's follow-up to Get Out, Us features two cast members from Black Panther 2. Lupita Nyong'o stars in this horror movie about murderous doppelgängers, while Winston Duke—who plays the mountain tribe warrior—M'Baku in the Black Panther films—plays her husband.
Beyond seeing double when it comes to Black Panther cast members in this way, it's doubled again by the fact that both Nyong'o and Duke play two roles in the film, thanks to the premise about everyone having doppelgängers. It's a simply-titled and satisfyingly direct horror film that's both very entertaining and quite unnerving in parts.
In Black Panther and its sequel, Danai Gurira plays Okoye, the head of Wakanda's all-female special forces unit, the Dora Milaje. Her best role outside the MCU might be that of Michonne in The Walking Dead, but she's also had numerous other movie roles, including that of Zainab in the 2007 drama, The Visitor.
It's certainly a film of its time, as 2007 is now 15 years ago, meaning the way it handles its themes and story —about an older man becoming wrapped up in the lives of a younger immigrant couple—is fair for its time, but not as seamless as a more modern film might handle such topics. Still, it's an admirable movie with important things to say about immigration and fear in New York City shortly after 9/11, and the whole cast—including Gurira—gives strong performances.
Ironheart/Riri Williams is set to become an important character in the MCU in the future, being something of a new take on the Iron Man character. She's being introduced in Black Panther 2 and portrayed by Dominique Thorne, who is also set to appear as the character in an upcoming Disney+ show.
Black Panther 2 will be Thorne's third feature film, but she's had a stellar career so far. Both her previous films—If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) and Judas and the Black Messiah(2021)—are worth checking out, particularly the latter, where she has a supporting role as a member of the Black Panther (the political group; no relation to the Marvel character) Party.
Tenoch Huerta is portraying Namor in Black Panther 2, one of the film's new antagonists. Given how strong Michael B. Jordan was as the first movie's main villain, it's a heavy task, but Huerta has experience with being an antagonist, given he played a crime boss named El Chino in the very dark fantasy/crime film Tigers Are Not Afraid.
Due to its dark story and the fact that the main characters are children who are put in some disturbing situations, it's not a film for everyone, but it is at least very unique. While each antagonist is very different (and appears in very different films), it's still a good showcase of the intensity and menace Huerta can bring to a role.
Angela Bassett appears as T'Challa's mother, Ramonda, in Black Panther 2. The first Black Panther saw her still coping with the death of her husband, which happened in Captain America: Civil War, so Black Panther 2 has her now mourning the loss of her son, meaning she's a character who's been put through a great deal, to put it mildly.
Angela Bassett proves up to the task, though, being an accomplished actor with a great filmography going back many years now. One of her best roles (and best movies) would have to be in the 1995 science-fiction/crime-mystery hybrid Strange Days, centering on a complex murder in the distant and otherworldly future of…1999.
Michaela Coel is a newcomer to the Black Panther films, given she didn't appear in the first movie. In Black Panther 2, she plays Aneka, a member of the Dora Milaje, the special forces unit in Wakanda headed by Okoye.
Coel's big break technically wasn't a movie, as it was the miniseries I May Destroy You, which is about a young, famous author rebuilding her life after being the victim of a horrific crime. Not only did she star in the six-hour miniseries, but she also wrote all the episodes and co-directed most of them. With the critically-acclaimed series and now a role in an MCU movie under her belt, Coel's prominence in the film world is likely to rise even more in the coming years.
Returning as Everett Ross in Black Panther 2, Martin Freeman is probably best known for his non-MCU work. First rising to prominence in the original UK version of The Office, his most iconic role might be that of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit Trilogy.
However, one of the best films he has a starring role in would have to be the somewhat underrated The World's End. It's a sci-fi/action/comedy movie about trying to recapture one's youth in the middle of an apocalypse and is an entertaining rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Isaach de Bankolé appears as an Elder of the River Tribe in Black Panther and its recent sequel. He's an Ivorian-French-American actor who's had a very interesting acting career since the 1980s and has appeared in numerous Jim Jarmusch films, including Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.
Ghost Dog's worth highlighting both because it's a good (and offbeat) crime-drama and because it also starred Forrest Whitaker, who portrayed Zuri in the first Black Panther. Due to Zuri's death in the first, Whitaker, unfortunately, isn't among the actors returning for Black Panther's sequel.
Jeremy is an omnivore when it comes to movies. He'll gladly watch and write about almost anything, from old Godzilla films to gangster flicks to samurai movies to classic musicals to the French New Wave to the MCU. When he's not writing lists for Collider, he also likes to upload film reviews to his Letterboxd profile (username: Jeremy Urquhart) and Instagram account.
10 Movies to Watch if You Loved the Cast of 'Black Panther 2' and Want To See More – Collider
