Winston Duke played M’Baku in Black Panther, and then in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, but he said he was emotional just packing his bags for his latest Marvel movie, the Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever.
The 6’5″ actor tells Collider that the very idea of returning to the fictional African nation without its king, the late Chadwick Boseman, gave him pause. “It was very emotional to read the script,” Duke admitted. “It was emotional to pack to go back to set. But we’re all a bit of a family now and we grieve together, and we’re making something really special.”
Written and directed by Panther‘s Ryan Coogler, the film is currently underway in Atlanta.
Previously, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige noted that Boseman’s role of King T’Challa will not be recast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Last month, at a fan event for Black Widow, Feige said working on the sequel is “clearly very emotional without Chad,” before adding, “We’re going to…make Chad proud.”
Incidentally, Boseman’s final performance in the role — voicing the character for Marvel’s animated What If…? on Disney+ — can be seen on August 11.
Duke can be seen next in the drama Nine Days.
Disney is the parent company of ABC Audio.
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.