Who’s in the Black Panther cast? The stars of the exceptional first Black Panther movie returned for Wakanda Forever, which was a superhero movie shot through with a sense of grief, as well as a return to Wakanda and its technological utopia.
In The Digital Fix’s Black Panther 2 review, our own Charlotte Colombo wrote that the Marvel movie was a spell-binding meditation on grief that transcends just what you think a superhero movie is capable of. Of course, it’s been a few years since we last visited Wakanda, so we thought it might be useful to remind you exactly who’s in the Black Panther cast.
Who’s in the Black Panther 2 cast?
- Martin Freeman as Everett Ross
- Winston Duke as M’Baku
- Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart
- Angela Bassett as Ramonda
- Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia
- Danai Gurira as Okoye
- Tenoch Huerta as Namor
- Letitia Wright as Shuri
Martin Freeman as Everett Ross
Martin Freeman reprised the role of CIA agent Everett Ross in Black Panther 2. Freeman is probably best known for his work on the comedy series The Office and for playing John Watson on the BBC Sherlock show.
However, he’s also a veteran movie actor starring, and arguably his biggest role to date was playing Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, a prequel to the Lord of the Rings movies. You can see him next in the Marvel series Secret Invasion.
Winston Duke as M’Baku
Winston Duke has played M’Baku, the leader of the proud and imperious Mountain Tribe, across four MCU movies now — including Black Panther, Infinity War, Endgame, and Wakanda Forever.
A relative newcomer to the world of acting, Duke, got his start appearing on TV series like Law and Order, Modern Family, and Person of Interest. Outside the MCU, he starred in Jordan Peele’s horror movie Us. Oh, and a fun fact, he also played Batman on the podcast Batman Buried.
Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart
The newest inductee to the Marvel hall of fame (for now at least), Dominique Thorne, is Riri Williams, a genius MIT student who finds herself dragged into Wakanda’s war against the Talokans.
Thorne’s filmography isn’t exactly a long read (she’s only appeared in two major movies, not including Black Panther 2), but it’s all about quality over quantity. In her brief career, she’s managed to star in not one but two impeccable drama movies, If Beale Street Could Talk and Judas and the Black Messiah. You’ll see Thorne next in her upcoming MCU sci-fi series Ironheart.
Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda
Angela Bassett plays Queen Ramonda, arguably the most powerful in Wakanda and one of our favourite MCU characters. A living legend and an icon of the silver screen, Bassett’s career stretched back to the ’80s, but her big break came in 1992 when she starred in Malcolm X, where she played Betty Shabazz, the wife of the titular human rights activist.
She followed this up by playing Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do with It, which saw her nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. From there, her career’s gone from strength to strength, and she’s worked with everyone from Robert Zemeckis to Eddie Murphy and even Ryan Reynolds. You may also know her as part of Ryan Murphy’s rotating American Horror Story cast, starring in five of the 11 seasons.
Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia
Lupita Nyong’o plays the War Dog Nakia, the love of T’Challa’s life, and the person (with a bit of help from Killmonger) who opened the king’s eyes to the dangers of shutting Wakanda away from the world. A magnificent actor, Nyong’o cut her teeth treading the boards, first appearing on Broadway when she was just a teenager. Her performance in Eclipsed even saw her nominated for a Tony Award.
Outside of the MCU, Nyong’o is best known for her debut feature film, 12 Years A Slave, where she played Patsey. Awards clearly follow Nyong’o like puddles follow rain because she won a Best Supporting Actress award for the film. You may also know Nyong’o from the Star Wars movies, where she plays the alien Maz Kanata.
Danai Gurira as Okoye
Okoye, the leader of Wakanda’s most powerful military unit, the Dora Milaje, is brought to life by the spectacular Danai Gurira. Gurira’s got a resume a mile long, but arguably the job that put her on the map was playing Michonne in the horror series The Walking Dead.
Aside from the MCU and The Walking Dead, Gurira played Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, in All Eyez on Me. Fun fact she also wrote the Broadway play Eclipsed that saw Nyong’o nominated for a Tony Award; there’s no jealousy, though. Gurira also got nominated.
Tenoch Huerta as Namor
The rule of the Talokans and a powerful warrior Namor is brought to life by Tenoch Huerta. Huerta’s been acting in Spanish-language films since the early 2000s. Still, English-speaking audiences were probably introduced to him when he worked with Cary Joji Fukunaga on the film Sin Nombre.
Since then, his notable credits include the horror fantasy movie Tigers Are Not Afraid, The 33, and The Forever Purge. Huerta also played real-life cartel member “Rafa” Quintero on the Netflix series Narcos: Mexico.
Letitia Wright as Shuri
Letitia Wright captured the hearts of Marvel fans when she appeared in Black Panther as T’Challa’s brilliant and bold sister Shuri. Like so many young British actors, Wright got her to start appearing on Holby City, but she followed it up with a string of incredible roles on shows like Top Boy, Doctor Who, and most notably, Mangrove, which was part of the BBC’s Small Axe anthology.
Wright broke through into film with Urban Hymn, which saw BAFTA name her one of 2015’s Breakthrough Stars. Outside of the MCU, she’s starred in Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, the animated movie Sing 2, and Death on the Nile.
If you want to know more about the world of Wakanda, check out our guide breaking down who the best Black Panther characters are, or we have an article explaining exactly what Vibranium is. Finally, we’ve had a look at a potential new movie and broken down everything we know about the Black Panther 3 release date.
Or for the next steps in the MCU as part of Marvel’s Phase 5, take a look at the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 release date, the Loki season 2 release date, and The Marvels release date.
