Following his turn as Academy Award-nominated turn as Chris Washington in 2017’s Get Out, Daniel Kaluuya returned to the big screen a year later for Black Panther, playing W’Kabi, one of T’Challa’s confidants and head of security for Wakanda’s Border Tribe. With Black Panther 2 being given the green light, it’s expected that we’ll see a lot of familiar Wakandan faces, and Kaluuya is hoping W’Kabi will be one of them.
When recently asked if he’s participating in Black Panther 2, Daniel Kaluuya responded:
I don’t know yet. I hope so, too! No pressure, story is key. Whatever the story needs, the story needs.
Daniel Kaluuya stopped by the ReelBlend podcast to plug his upcoming movie Queen & Slim, but when the topic of Black Panther 2 came up, he made it clear that while he hasn’t been clued in on if anything’s in store for W’Kabi, he’s game to participate in the sequel. Given that W’Kabi was alive when Black Panther ended, even though approximately seven years passed between the events of Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame, one would imagine he’s still around.
At the start of Black Panther, W’Kabi was one of T’Challa’s closest allies, but T’Challa’s failure to capture the reemerged Ulysses Klaue, the man who killed W’Kabi’s parents and many other Border Tribe members, drove a wedge in their friendship. When Erik “Killmonger” Stevens came to Wakanda and delivered Klaue’s corpse, W’Kabi supported Killmonger’s claim to the Wakandan throne.
Once Killmonger defeated T’Challa in ceremonial combat and became Wakanda’s new king, W’Kabi helped coordinate the delivery of vibranium weapons to Wakandan operatives around the world, which resulted in a falling out with his wife, Okoye. When T’Challa returned to take back the throne with his allies, W’Kabi fought on Killmonger’s behalf, but he ultimately surrendered to Okoye when she told him she wouldn’t hesitate to kill him for Wakanda.
Since W’Kabi wasn’t seen as part of T’Challa’s tribal council at the end of Black Panther, we can assume he was either imprisoned or at the very least lost his leadership status. But perhaps Black Panther 2 will offer a chance for him to get back in good standing with T’Challa. W’Kabi will certainly have had a lot of time to reflect on his actions when the sequel begins.
You can listen to Daniel Kaluuya’s interview on ReelBlend below:
As things stand now, Black Panther 2’s story is still being outlined, and the only characters who are confirmed to be back for are Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa (obviously), Letitia Wright’s Shuri, Danai Gurira’s Okoye and Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross. Ryan Coogler was brought back to write and direct the sequel, and it will be one of the first Phase 5 movies.
Black Panther 2 opens in theaters on May 6, 2022, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on its development. Don’t forget to learn what other MCU movies are coming down the pipeline with our comprehensive guide.
As for Daniel Kaluuya, you can see him back in theaters when Queen & Slim is released on November 27. Find out what other movies are left to come out this year with our 2019 release schedule.
