Black Panther movie might add Star Wars' Lupita Nyong'o to its cast

(Image credit: Disney)

Audiences who have seen Captain America: Civil War would have gotten their first taste of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa - better known as Black Panther - in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Regal, powerful, and wise, it's a great introduction to the character that has many (me included) looking forward to the solo film coming in 2018, and some potential new casting only increases the excitement. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lupita Nyong'o is in talks to join the cast of Black Panther. While the name of the character in question has not been revealed, the article notes that Nyong'o will be playing T'Challa's love interest should the deal go through.

This would be fantastic casting; I'm a big fan of Nyong'o, and after her impressive mo-cap and vocal performances in The Force Awakens and The Jungle Book it wil be good to see her back on screens sans effects again. On the face of it, the fact that the role she's up for is the "love interest" is cause for mild concern. However, whether that is ultimately a bad thing is down to the quality of the writing, and after the excellent Fruitvale Station and Creed I fully trust writer-director Ryan Coogler to serve the character well.

While Marvel get a lot of (not entirely undeserved) crap for having too many white male superheroes we should also applaud them when they get it right, and Black Panther looks like its shaping up to be a massive victory in this regard. Nyong'o would be a fantastic get, and I can't wait to see who else signs on to Marvel's most exciting upcoming film.

Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther is released in UK cinemas on February 9, 2018 before opening in US theatres on February 16, 2018.

Images: Disney

Amon Warmann

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.

Latest in Marvel Movies
The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast assemble
Fantastic Four star says the Marvel movie "will go down in history" for rejuvenating the MCU, "in the same way the Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther hit"
Wanda in Doctor Strange
Scarlet Witch star Elizabeth Olsen is one of the first Marvel actors to say she's not in the next pair of Avengers movies
Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania
Paul Rudd is still thinking about that one Thanos and Ant-Man fan theory: "I often wonder, though, could he really have stopped Thanos in that way?"
She-Hulk on Disney Plus
Tatiana Maslany canceled a Comic Con appearance due to "filming commitments", and it could mean She-Hulk is in the next Avengers movie
Charlie Cox in Daredevil
Daredevil star Charlie Cox says keeping his Spider-Man: No Way Home cameo a secret for two years was a "nightmare"
Avengers: Doomsday directors admit it's a "difficult" movie to make but tease some great Marvel collaborators "old and new"
Latest in News
Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka
A Star Wars actor just quietly confirmed that filming has begun on Ahsoka season 2
Mario
A surprise bonus Nintendo Direct is coming a week early: "There will be no updates about Nintendo Switch 2 during this presentation"
God of War
20 years later, God of War's original monster art has been revealed: behold this army of stick figures slapped on a whiteboard, no clue Kratos is coming for them
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe facing off against samurai warrior on red bridge
An Assassin's Creed Shadows fan is showing off some of the RPG's most impressive little details, and it's done more to get me interested than Ubisoft ever did
A woman chasing a shining butterfly with a leaping cat on her shoulder in InZOI
InZoi has a long way to go before it can actually rival The Sims as its director says EA's "spent decades perfecting" the formula
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail
Final Fantasy 14 patch makes an effort to combat mods that can enable harassment, but players report it's "very easy" to reverse newly hidden account IDs