MCU star Danai Gurira is set to reprise her character General Okoye not only in the next Black Panther film, Wakanda Forever, but in a series on Disney+, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter.
Word of Gurira’s return to the MCU came via a brief mention in a power list of Hollywood lawyers in THR, stating that her lawyer, Jamie Mandelbaum, had “brokered a deal for [her] to not only reprise her role as Okoye in the upcoming Black Panther sequel but also in an origin spinoff series for Disney+.”
Gurira’s continued presence in the franchise isn’t a huge surprise: her character Okoye heads up Wakanda’s Dora Milaje (an elite corps of bodyguards and special forces personnel) and military, and played a key role in Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Several members of the Dora Milaje appeared in Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and it seems as though they’ll continue to play a key role in the franchise moving forward.
We know that we will be seeing a sequel to Black Panther, recently formally announced as Wakanda Forever, which is set to debut in theaters on July 8th, 2022. Also in the works is a Wakandan TV series for Disney+, developed by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler (which Andrew Tejada noted would be a perfect vehicle for Gurira, especially given that she’s had plenty of experience leading a series as Michonne in AMC’s The Walking Dead.)
THR has characterized the series as an origin story, and it joins the already burgeoning list of spinoff shows that Disney has in the works: Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Armor Wars, Ironheart, and Secret Invasion, all of which seem to tie in with Marvel’s film franchise to some degree. Presumably, Gurira’s upcoming projects will lead into one another in some form. We’ll find out exactly how in just over a year.
