Ryan Coogler's Black Panther is an absolutely massive movie, not only introducing audiences to the stunning new cinematic world of Wakanda, but telling the story with a remarkable ensemble of actors. For all of those involved it was a massive undertaking, and was surely a stressful endeavor at times -- but they did occasionally find ways to lighten the atmosphere. For example, as I recently learned while sitting down with stars Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira, there was a very special moment on set that involved a group of drummers, an awesome Snoop Dogg track, and some fun, spontaneous dancing:
Danai Gurira: We had such a great moment on set with one of Snoop Dogg's tracks. It was like he was there. He was with us.Lupita Nyong'o: During the Warrior Falls set between takes, the drummers started to drum to his song "Drop It Like It's Hot." And then we all started to riff to it, and it was just this moment of union on the set that was just remarkable... Snoop Dogg ought to be in the movie!Danai Gurira: A quick cameo.Lupita Nyong'o: A police chief or something; I don't know.
I learned about this fantastic behind-the-scenes story last week when I had the pleasure of sitting down with Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira during the Black Panther press day in Los Angeles. Throughout the day I was asking all of the film's stars about actors that they would love to see join the world of Wakanda, and it was in response to that question that Nyong'o and Gurira told me about the influence of Snoop Dogg, and the very special moment on set that had everybody in a similar headspace.
The Warrior Falls sequence that is referred to takes place towards the start of Black Panther, when T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is in the process of his coronation. In order to earn the crown he must face any challengers in ritual combat, and the fight is a big event -- collecting the various tribes of the nation at the country's grandest waterfall. The event is filled with music and dancing - all of it traditional instead of pop -- but apparently the folks with the drums decided to have a bit of fun with their instruments between takes, and it wound up creating a very special on-set moment
You can watch Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira discuss their very special Snoop Dogg moment on the set of Black Panther by clicking play on the video below:
Black Panther doesn't actually contain any Snoop Dogg music, but it does boast an incredible soundtrack from Ludwig Goransson and Kendrick Lamar, which will be available starting February 11th. As for the film itself, you'll be able to catch it in theaters starting February 16th -- and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for a whole lot more from my interviews with the film's cast and filmmakers!
