UNITED KINGDOM – Daniel Kaluuya will reportedly not be reprising his role in Marvel’s Black Panther sequel.
The British actor was asked to return to the franchise but had already committed to other projects, according to the media teams from the United States of America.
His character W’Kabi was the best friend and confidant to King T’Challa, played by the late Chadwick Boseman, and the head of security for the Border Tribe, in the 2018 original film.
But dates for the production clashed with Jordan Peele’s upcoming horror film Nope, which is due for release next week.
Kaluuya was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Peele’s 2017 film Get Out.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is directed by Ryan Coogler and set to hit cinemas on Nov 11.
The franchise’s star Boseman died in 2020 following a private battle with cancer, though Marvel decided not to recast the role of King T’Challa.
Other original cast members Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, and Martin Freeman have been confirmed to return.
Freeman, who plays Everett Ross, said the sequel would be “really exceptional”, despite the loss of Boseman and that fans would not see the new direction of the film coming “in a billion years”.
