Daniel Kaluuya inBlack Panther(2018).Photo: Marvel Studios

Ryan Coogleris explaining what happened toDaniel Kaluuya’sBlack Panthercharacter and why he isn’t shown in the sequel.
Speakingwith CinemaBlend, director Coogler shared where W’Kabi is now in the events of the new sequelBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.
“That’s a great question. He’s basically banished, but still within Wakanda’s borders, if that makes sense. It’s one line that refers to him still being alive,” said Coogler.
Ryan Coogler.Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

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Oscar winner Kaluuya, 33, previously confirmed he does not appear inWakanda Foreverdue to a scheduling conflicthe had with the filming of his sci-fi movieNopethat debuted earlier this year. He thentoldThe Hollywood Reporterin July about not wanting to disappoint fans.
“If I said anything, people would be really disappointed,” he said of keeping hush about not being involved. “That’s how I feel about it. I think people will be disappointed. They don’t want to be spoiled. They’re surprised in whatever will happen. That’s what was amazing about the first one.”
RELATED VIDEO: HowBlack Panther: Wakanda ForeverCast Were Able to Find Joy in Filming After ‘Immense Loss’ of Chadwick Boseman
Coogler, 36, recently toldEntertainment Weeklythat after Bosemandiedof colon cancer in August 2020 at 43, he didn’t know if he could continue making movies.
“I was at a point when I was like, ‘I’mwalking away from this business.’ I didn’t know if I could make another movie period, [let alone] anotherBlack Panthermovie, because it hurt a lot. I was like, ‘Man, how could I open myself up to feeling like this again?’ " he said.
In the days after Boseman’s death, Coogler was “poring over a lot of our conversations that we had, towards what I realized was the end of his life. I decided that it made more sense to keep going.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveris in theaters Friday.
source: people.com