Danai Gurira will swing back into action as her fierce and powerful character Okoye in the upcoming Marvel superhero film 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'.
The film directed by Ryan Coogler is the sequel to the billion-dollar Oscar-nominated 'Black Panther' which saw the late Chadwick Boseman take on the role of the King of Wakanda. With the lead actor's sudden passing, the crown and Black Panther title will now pass on to Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri, the sister of the slain King.
She will now join the league of heroic female characters like Captain Marvel, Miss Marvel, She-Hulk, America Chavez, Iron Heart and many others who are currently leading this new phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In a chat with Danai, ETimes asked her about the flak Marvel has been facing from fans and social media trolls for having female characters take over the baton from iconic male superheroes. "I don't know anything about that (trolls), but I think that is insane and ludicrous. It doesn't even make sense," Danai said.
She went on to add, "I would love to hear the argument as to why there is anything to hate about the idea of women being represented in heroic roles. Have we not seen enough men represented in heroic roles in our time?"
Expressing her hope to have an open debate on the same, she said, "I would love for such persons to elaborate and explain to me what their issue is with seeing women being heroic as we know they are, every minute of the day, in every corner of the planet."
In Marvel Studios' 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever', Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M'Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba) fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death.
As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.
The MCU was in the headlines recently when 'Avatar' director James Cameron criticised the aspect of character development in superhero films, adding "that's not the way to make movies". The director said that maturity is lacking in the characters and mentioned that they "don't experience" relationships in the real sense.
"When I look at these big, spectacular films - I'm looking at you, Marvel and DC - it doesn't matter how old the characters are, they all act like they're in college. They have relationships, but they really don't. They never hang up their spurs because of their kids. The things that really ground us and give us power, love, and a purpose? Those characters don't experience it, and I think that's not the way to make movies," Cameron explained.
When we asked Danai if the new Black Panther film, with its emotional story, will help change Cameron's perspective, she said, "I am not thinking of James Cameron's perspective. God bless him."
'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' opens in theatres on November 11. It introduces Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor, ruler of a hidden undersea nation. The film that also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli will release in India in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.
