Black Panther‘s Lupita Nyong’o Says Marvel Was Nervous About the Film’s Chances

Now much than ever, Marvel is walking a tightrope to spot whether the shotgun method of its slate of films and TV shows volition onshore with fans oregon miss the mark. While fans often get caught wearing rose-tinted glasses portion looking backmost connected the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s galore communicative and container bureau triumphs, Black Panther histrion Lupita Nyong’o revealed that the comic publication higher-ups were unsure of the film’s chances successful its increasing cinematic pantheon.

During a property junket for her caller Disney movie The Wild Robot astatine the BFI London Film Festival, Nyong’o recounted however Marvel was trepidatious astir Black Panther portion it was successful production. Despite the Black Panther character’s roaring occurrence successful his archetypal quality successful Captain America: Civil War, Nyong’o said Marvel was disquieted if fans would proceed to beryllium receptive to the superhero successful his ain solo film—a movie that would besides beryllium the MCU’s first Black-led superhero film (not counting Blade).

“There was a batch of fear, decidedly from the executives… Marvel was shaking a small spot successful their boots,” Nyong’o said. “We were excessively due to the fact that we were like, we lone get to bash this once. And we gotta bash it right.” Fortunately, arsenic Nyong’o noted, Black Panther “totally shattered the story that Black doesn’t sell” and rapidly became one of Marvel’s astir palmy films.

While Lupita hasn’t been shy astir her enthusiasm for joining Black Panther‘s cast, what prompted her speech astir the film’s bequest astatine the BFI London Film Festival was seeing a clip of her and the precocious Chadwick Boseman‘s T’Challa. According to the Hollywood Reporter, witnessing the clip led Nyong’o to autumn soundless and aboriginal prompted her to uncover that she hadn’t watched the movie since Boseman’s passing successful 2020 from colon cancer.

Nyong’o not lone played other Boseman arsenic T’Challa’s emotion interest, Nakia, but successful existent beingness she besides became his adjacent friend. Boseman’s passing led manager Ryan Coogler to revise the communicative of Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever to pay tribute to Boseman’s passing, allowing some moviegoers and Boseman’s co-stars to mourn his passing.

At the BFI #LFF, Lupita Nyong’o begins to outcry aft being shown a clip of her and Chadwick Boseman successful #BlackPanther – which she says she hasn’t watched since the actor’s decease successful 2020: “The grief is the emotion and obscurity to enactment it" pic.twitter.com/avxpEKShHW

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 14, 2024

“The grief is the love, and nary spot to enactment it,” Nyong’o said.  I don’t privation [to] tally distant from the tears oregon the grief. You conscionable unrecorded with it. That acquisition volition ne'er beryllium abstracted from the emotion that formed,” Lupita said, aft reportedly politely declining to determination connected to different Black Panther clip.

She continued: “I ticker this clip and I’m filled with grief and I don’t cognize whether I’ll ever beryllium done shedding tears from losing my friend. But I’m like, we get to spot him alive. And that’s truthful wonderful.”

The Wild Robot is successful theaters now.

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