Forest Whitaker just wrapped up a huge role in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and now he's headed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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The Academy Award-winning actor and Captain America: Civil War's Florence Kasumba lead an exciting new crop of cast members confirmed by Marvel Studios for Black Panther.
Whitaker will have an all-important role as Zuri, a character Marvel describes as "an elder statesman" of Black Panther's (Chadwick Boseman) home nation Wakanda.
Whitaker's long and impressive career includes memorable film roles in The Last King of Scotland, Platoon and Lee Daniels' The Butler. He also produced Black Panther director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B Jordan's critically-acclaimed drama Fruitvale Station.
(Florence Kasumba in Emerald City)
Returning for the upcoming Marvel movie will be Florence Kasumba as Ayo, a member of Black Panther's royal security team (known as the Dora Milaje) from Civil War.
Other newcomers are Black Mirror's Daniel Kaluuya as the Panther's ally W'Kab and Person of Interest actor Winston Duke as tribal rival M'Baku.
M'Baku is the secret identity of one of Black Panther's most iconic adversaries, the blood-drinking Wakandan warrior known as Man-Ape.
(Man-Ape)
Marvel has already confirmed that Black Panther's incredible cast will also feature Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o and The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira.
In a recent interview with Digital Spy, Chadwick Boseman chatted about the "historic" occasion of starring in the first Marvel movie led by a mostly black cast.
"I think I felt [the excitement] when we were on the stage together at Comic-Con when all the other actors came out, and [director Ryan Coogler] was there, and [Marvel Studios president Kevin] Feige was there. I felt it at that moment," he told us.
"But on a day-to-day basis I can't think about how big it is. I have to think about what I have to do today to be ready for the moment when the cameras roll. And when the camera rolls, I'm just thinking about the scene I'm doing.
"I'm not thinking about what I'm going to do tomorrow. I have to take it one step at a time. It's just another movie, is the answer."
Black Panther will be released on February 9, 2018 in the UK and February 16, 2018 in the US.
Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
