With the tragic passing of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, the difficult task of following up the 2018 mega-hit without its title character falls in large part to the mostly-female ensemble of supporting actors. Let's take a closer look at the women of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Lupita Nyong'o
Yale-educated Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o has been a major presence on movie screens since her breakout role in 2013's 12 Years A Slave. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in that film and has gone on to starring roles in films like Us and Little Monsters, as well as motion-capture performances in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Jungle Book. In the Black Panther movies, she plays Nakia, a Wakandan "war dog" super-spy and King T'Challa's love interest.
Leticia Wright
29-year-old Guyanese-British performer Leticia Wright made a big splash in the first movie as T'Challa's kid sister and chief scientist Princess Shuri. Her character was mostly fun comic relief in the first movie, but the second movie calls on her to do a lot more heavy lifting.
Danai Gurira
Before killing it as General Okoye in Black Panther and two Avengers movies, Gurira was best known as sword-wielding badass Michonne on AMC's 'The Walking Dead'. She's now a staple of the MCU and is headed for a 'The Walking Dead' spinoff with original series lead Andrew Lincoln.
Dominique Thorne
She plays young armored hero Riri Williams here and will soon be starring as the character in her own Disney+ series, 'Ironheart'. Thorne made her acting debut in If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) and received critical praise for her work there and in 2021's Judas and the Black Messiah.
Angela Bassett
The legendary Angela Bassett has been working consistently in TV and film since the mid-80s. Her big breakout year was 1993, when she starred as Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It and played Betty Shabazz in Malcolm X. She still looks incredible at 64 and gets to show off her badass arms once again as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
The Veep and Seinfeld star made her MCU debut in the 2021 Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. She's back as CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
Photo: Getty Images