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Lupita Nyong’o To Star In ‘Black Panther’? Actress In Talks To Join Cast

By Niki Cruz
Published on: 08:44 PST, May 12, 2016

Is Lupita Nyong’o gearing up for Marvel’s Black Panther? She might be. According to Entertainment Weekly, Nyong’o is in negotiations to play Black Panther’s love interest. As we know, Black Panther is played by Get On Up star Chadwick Boseman, with Creed director Ryan Coogler at the helm.

As of right now, we don’t know too many details about Nyong’o’s possible role in Black Panter, but some are already digging into the comics to figure out who Lupita will be playing. T’Challa, aka Black Panther, has many love interests throughout the series, so Nyong’o’s role is really up in the air. Some have said she could play Ororo Munroe, better known as Storm from the X-Men universe. Another option is American singer Monica Lynne.

Although we don’t know who the Black Panther’s love interest will be, we know that it’s bound to be a stellar experience, considering all of the talented hands involved. Writer and director of the Black Panther film, Ryan Coogler, opened up to Hey U Guys on YouTube about how it feels to take on Black Panther.

“I’m excited. I grew up very into pop culture, very into comic books, so it’s something that is just as personal to me as the last couple of films I was able to make. I feel really fortunate to be able to work on something I’m this passionate about again.”

Coogler was one of the voices that was upfront about their concerns of a white director coming in to tell this story. In Coogler’s opinion, a black director has to take charge of the project to show a specific perspective of the black experience.

Despite not knowing what role Lupita Nyong’o will have in Marvel’s Black Panther, fans seem really excited about her possible inclusion and some even have suggestions of who she should play:

As one fan mentioned, Marvel is tied into Disney, and right now Lupita is currently starring in their smash hit The Jungle Book. In addition, Nyong’o appeared in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens. That said, there was some controversy that came with her role as Maz Kanata. Many believed that Lupita was going to have a bigger role, which helped spin rumors that J.J. Abrams wasn’t happy with her voice work and cut her scenes down.

Once rumors really started to circulate, Abrams denied the story.

“The number of rumors floating around about ‘The Force Awakens’ is truly stunning. Some are wonderfully funny, others simply preposterous. But the only one more ridiculous than Jar Jar Binks being a Sith Lord is that I cut Lupita Nyong’o’s performance because it wasn’t satisfactory.

“In truth, her performance wasn’t satisfactory. It was spectacular. She has brought the character of Maz Kanata to life in the most wonderful, wise, touching, deep and funny way. Lupita never ceased to amaze me. Yes, we tried many approaches, and we finally landed on just what the film needed. She elevated all the scenes she is in, I’m forever grateful, and can’t wait for people to see her stunning performance.”

Hopefully Nyong’o can avoid controversy in Black Panther. As it stands now, it seems like everyone is on board for her to be cast in what’s said to be one of the most-anticipated films in the Marvel Universe.

[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]

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