San Diego Comic-Con 2016: ‘The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira Cast In Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ Movie

The Marvel Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con revealed some exciting news this weekend in relation to casting in their upcoming Black Panther movie. Fans of AMC’s The Walking Dead will be very excited to learn that Danai Gurira has been cast to play the role of Okoye.

According to ComicBook, who broke the news first, Danai Gurira has been cast to play Okoye, a character from the Marvel comics that is “the head of the elite Wakandan secruity force called the Dora Milaje.” According to IMDb, Danai will join the cast alongside Chadwick Boseman (as T’Challa/Black Panther), Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, and Andy Serkis (Ulysses Klaue/Klaw).

Marvel’s Black Panther movie will be based on the comic books of the same name. In the comics, Okoye was a part of an order under King of Wakanda. Dora Milaje members were chosen from different tribes in an effort to help maintain civil rest. Okoye and her friend, Nakia, joined the Dora Milaje but Nakia later became disgruntled with the organization when it became apparent she would not marry the King. She defected and became the villain known as Malice.

The main character, Black Panther, is also known as T’Challa or King of Wakanda. Okoye and his story intertwine in the comics after T’Challa suffers a brain aneurysm and they go into hiding. During this time they encountered Kevin “Kasper” Cole, a man who later on becomes known as White Panther.

Danai Gurira is best known for her role as Michonne, the katana-wielding hero of AMC’s The Walking Dead, making Danai no stranger to playing comic book characters, as Michonne is a much-loved character from the graphic novels the TV version of The Walking Dead is based on.

As soon as ComicBook broke the news, fans started pointing out that this is the third actor recruited from The Walking Dead universe into Marvel’s world. Jon Bernthal (who played Shane in The Walking Dead) now plays the Punisher in Marvel’s Daredevil series on Netflix. Michael Rooker (who played Merle Dixon in The Walking Dead) played Yondu Udonta in the 2014 Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy. As one fan on ComicBook‘s Facebook page pointed out, perhaps it is now time for a Marvel Walking Dead universe.

Alongside this latest casting announcement for Marvel’s Black Panther movie, the Inquisitr recently reported the comic book series spin-off from the original Black Panther comics, Black Panther: World of Wakanda, has just hired two black female writers to help delve into the world of Wakanda and all the wonderful characters that exist there.

According to ScreenRant, Marvel’s Black Panther may be filmed, in part, in Africa in an effort to continue to maintain an authenticity and diversity that can often be lacking in the Marvel universe. Stage work is to be done in Atlanta, a place Danai is familiar with, as that is where AMC’s The Walking Dead is also filmed. Black Panther is being co-written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole from the comics developed by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. According to an article in The Undefeated, Marvel writer Nate Moore has stated that the expected release date for Black Panther will be “in the thick of Black History Month” in 2018.

Along with the latest casting news on Black Panther, Marvel also released the following new logo for Black Panther. FanSided also confirmed that production for Black Panther would begin in January next year.

Cast and new logo for Marvel’s “@theblackpanther” just revealed at #MarvelSDCC! https://t.co/KlRFgZiiyL pic.twitter.com/AHDTYX0uI3

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) July 24, 2016

Black Panther is slated for release on July 6, 2018.

Are you excited to learn that Danai Gurira is joining the cast of Marvel’s Black Panther? Let us know by commenting below!

[Image via AMC]