Danai Gurira To Return As Okoye In New Black Panther Film & Disney+ Show

Danai Gurira is officially returning as Okoye in Black Panther: Wakanda Forver and a new Disney+ spinoff.

Source: Sarah Morris / Getty

As Disney begins to move forward with their Black Panther franchise after the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman, several questions are left on the table. Will the new film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hit its summer 2022 target? Who is slated to return? Who’s the villain? What’s the story?

While most of those questions will not be answered any time soon, one thing that has been revealed is Danai Gurira will return to the franchise, set to reprise her role as Okoye, according to Deadline.

We hear from sources that Danai Gurira will be returning as Okoye, general of the Dora Milaje, in Ryan Coogler’s upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as well as reprising the character in an origin spinoff series for Disney+.

Disney didn’t have any comment about today’s report.

It would not come as a shock if Gurira also stars in the Wakanda series which Coogler is developing for Disney+. We first told you about the new show when the filmmaker and his Proximity Media signed a five-year overall exclusive TV deal with the studio.

AV Club notes that the new Black Panther spin-off series could be “a continuation” of where the storyline of the forthcoming sequel will leave off. The outlet adds that there’s also a possibility of the show zooming in on some stories of Wakandans who were not central characters of the first film. Either way, Black Panther director and writer Ryan Coogler will continue to be at the helm of the iconic franchise’s venture into Disney+.

“Ryan Coogler is a singular storyteller whose vision and range have made him one of the standout filmmakers of his generation,” shared Disney chairman Bob Iger in a statement. “With Black Panther, Ryan brought a groundbreaking story and iconic characters to life in a real, meaningful, and memorable way, creating a watershed cultural moment. We’re thrilled to strengthen our relationship and look forward to telling more great stories with Ryan and his team.”

It’s good to see the King’s right-hand woman returning for the film and for the Disney+ show. The Wakandan presence was in Disney’s Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but not as much as we’d like. Hopefully, we will see Wakanda pop up across more projects in the future.