Winston Duke Scores Big Pay Raise for Black Panther 2 Due to ‘Expanded Role’

M’Baku will be a major player in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as Winston Duke has reportedly had his role expanded.

Read into this what you will, but Winston Duke has reportedly had his role greatly expanded in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Appearing in the original movie a M’Baku, Duke is one of several stars from the first to reprise their roles. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Duke’s pay for the sequel recently went up significantly after the actor reportedly negotiated a hefty pay raise for an “expanded” role in the new movie. It remains to be seen what exactly that will entail.

It was also reported that Letitia Wright is back on set to resume filming her scenes as Shuri. She had suffered an injury on the set last fall which turned out to be more severe than originally thought, requiring months of recovery. There were rumors floating around that she might be exiting the project but that doesn’t seem to be the case with the actress back to work at this time. The shooting schedule had been shifted to allow for Wright to fully recover and it’s possible this could have resulted in more screen time for Duke.

Also back for the sequel are Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, and Angela Bassett. The movie also features Dominique Throne as Riri Williams, aka Ironheart. Ryan Coogler is back in the director’s chair and co-wrote the script with Joe Robert Cole

Related: Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa Will Never Be Recast in the MCU Reaffirms Marvel VP

Many Original Stars Return for Black Panther 2 But Don’t Expect to See T’Challa

We shouldn’t count on seeing T’Challa appearing in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. After the death of Chadwick Boseman, Marvel’s Kevin Feige said that they would not be using CGI to put Boseman’s T’Challa into the film. It wasn’t clarified how this would be handled in the story, but the thinking is that T’Challa will somehow be written out so another character could take on the Black Panther mantle. Letitia Wright’s Shuri has been one rumored candidate to do just that, but so has Winston Duke’s M’Baku.

Even so, some Marvel fans still want to see T’Challa appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a new actor in the role. This is not meant as a slight against Boseman, as the argument is that putting a new actor in the part will help keep the character alive after Boseman previously made T’Challa more popular than ever. At the same time, there would be many fans unwilling to accept a new T’Challa, especially still so soon after Boseman’s passing. In any case, don’t place your bets on seeing any kind of T’Challa in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is scheduled to be released in movie theaters on Nov. 11, 2022. Fans can also look forward to a separate series made for Disney+ from director Ryan Coogler. The Wakanda series is set in the same world as the films, but not much more information has been revealed about what it will entail. Perhaps that will be made more clear after we first learn what happens in Wakanda Forever.

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