The Female Cast of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Celebrate Chadwick Boseman As They Cover Elle UK’s November Issue

"An Unbreakable Bond"

The Elle UK team caught up with Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright and Danai Gurira ahead of the much-anticipated release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, they spoke to ELLE UK about honoring their late co-star Chadwick Boseman’s memory, how they hope the film helps people who have lost loved ones and why it’s so important the film industry amplifies diverse voices.

Check out excerpts from the cover below:

Although the trio share similarities in their confidence, poise and almost-otherworldly perfect skin, the differences in their personalities are clear. Gurira is meticulous and methodical; Nyong’o frank and thoughtful; Wright understated and warm. And all are completely in awe of one another, even after so many years of working together.

Nyong’o is excited for viewers to see the complexity of Black womanhood in the upcoming film. ‘We get to see them be fully human. That’s something that, as Black women, we are often not afforded on-screen. And there are so many female characters. All too often in these movies, there’s a token one or two. Here, you’re seeing a community.’

Wright agrees. ‘A beautiful moment was the three of us being able to do a scene together,’ she recalls. ‘I think that’s the first time that’s happened in the course of the franchise. It was a delicate scene, but there was so much beauty in it and so much laughter. We held each other up in ways that we didn’t get to do before. And to go through and just see Danai and Lupita in front of me, just working through their craft. Like, damn, I’m in a scene with Danai and Lupita. That’s sick. That’s really dope.’

When they sit down to chat individually, they each express a desire to continue the unapologetic celebration of Black excellence and the diaspora, which they began four years ago with the first Black Panther film: a cultural moment so pivotal that it ushered in what many have called a renaissance in Black storytelling in the industry. And perhaps, most of all, they’re intent on honouring the memory of Chadwick Boseman, who played the titular character, King T’Challa, and died from colon cancer in 2020, at the age of 43.