Lupita Nyong’o, best known for her Academy Award-winning performance in 12 Years a Slave, is in line to play the love interest opposite Chadwick Boseman, in Marvel’s Black Panther.
The Mexican-born Kenyan beauty is in talks to take on the unspecified role, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Should she sign on the dotted line, Nyong’o will star alongside Boseman, the super genius warrior king of the African nation of Wakanda ,aka the Black Panther, otherwise known as T’Challa.
In the Marvel universe Wakanda is famous for its rich deposits of vibranium, the unbreakable metal used to make Captain America’s shield. Spoiler alert: as expected, T’Challa makes his first appearance in the latest Marvel big screen feature, Captain America: Civil War, with Boseman scoring little moments of clarity, providing us with new perspectives surrounding his character.
For those unfamiliar with Black Panther, he was the first Black super-powered hero to surface in mainstream comics. In July 1966, he made his comic book debut in Fantastic Four No. 52. Though predated by characters like Marvel’s Gabe Jones and Dell Comics’ Lobo, his initial appearance cemented T’Challa’s place as the first superhuman in the medium’s mainstream history.
Although very little is known about Nyong’o’s proposed role, we imagine she’ll have the ability to kick some butt, much like her brilliant tactician, strategist, scientist, tracker and a master of unarmed combat boyfriend. In the event Nyong’o doesn’t take the role, we’ve compiled a list of brown girls we’d cast in Marvel’s Black Panther. They’re bold, beautiful and known to kick some tail end. Hit the flip to check out our top five picks.
