Lupita Nyong’o Wants Nakia To Become Villain In ‘Black Panther’ Sequel

Nakia could become the new villain in the next Black Panther movie–and Lupita Nyong’o wants it to happen.

The movie adaptations of the Marvel comics have been doing well so far in choosing which parts of the original comics to follow and alter. And Black Panther, like its sister Marvel movies, deliberately changed and kept many truths and characteristics from its original comics.

Some of the changes made from the comics to the movie, as Elite Daily outlined, include T’Challa’s age when he took the throne. In the comics, T’Challa takes the throne when he is only 17-years-old.

The story of Prince N’Jobu, Erik Killmonger’s father, is also a bit different in the movie. In the comics, N’Jobu lived in Wakanda, not Oakland, and is only banished because Klaue forced him to help during the Wakandan invasion in 1992. N’Jobu helps Klaue because his wife and son Erik were taken captive by Klaue but when the invasion fails, King T’Chaka believes his brother sold them out so he exiled the whole family to Harlem.

Wakanda is a bit different, as well, because in the comics, it did not stay hidden as long as it did in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Wakanda opened itself to the Marvel Universe as early as Black Panther #14 and has been invaded and attacked by a number of foes even before 2016.

But the Black Panther movie made strategic decisions in altering its timeline, making the movie one of the best Marvel has ever created. Black Panther has been so well-received by the global market that it has become the top-grossing film in history by a black director (Ryan Coogler) with a largely black cast, New York Times reported, which is estimated to have broken $387 million in global ticket sales as of last week.

Because of its success, it is highly likely that Black Panther will see a sequel. And the question that begs to be asked now, is how much will the movie continue to stay true or diverge from its comics roots. The answer to this question will greatly affect one of the Black Panther character favorites–Nakia.

The people have spoken. #BlackPanther is the #1 movie in the world. Get tickets: https://t.co/Nr2Hef9sg4 pic.twitter.com/1qThWnOcKD

— Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (@theblackpanther) February 24, 2018

Nakia, played by actress Lupita Nyong’o in the film, has a particular destiny in the comics. In the comics, Nakia became obsessed with T’Challa and plotted to kill his ex-girlfriend in hopes that he would marry her. Because of this, Nakia is banished from Wakanda and befriends Killmonger. She then adopts the name of Malice and becomes an enemy to T’Challa and Dora Millaje. In fact, in the original comics, T’Challa ends up marrying X-Men character Storm.

This could be a possible turn of events for the Black Panther sequel, if ever the Disney and Marvel/Fox deal goes through, which could possibly let the Marvel and X-Men characters finally make a crossover. In fact, Alexandra Shipp, who plays Storm in X-Men: Apocalypse, wants the Black Panther-Storm marriage to happen, Movie Web reported.

“I want that movie so bad. I’ve got a pitch, I’m like coming up with a vision board, I want this movie to happen. Honestly it doesn’t have to be me – if Chadwick [Boseman] was like ‘you know what, I really want to do this with Halle [Berry]’ I’d be like yo, that’s fine at least make the movie.”

Is Lupita Nyong’o ready for such a radical shift for her character? In an interview with Buzzfeed below, Nyong’o reveals that she’d “love to play a villain… at some point.”

In an interview with Comicbook, she also addressed the possibility that Nakia could take on the character of Malice in the next Black Panther movie with a resounding “Yes, sign me up!”

But when it comes to the fact that T’Challa might just be married off to Storm to ignite this Malice arc, Nyong’o becomes a little territorial and said that they’ve actually already talked about the possibility.

“I’m not happy to talk about this, at all! I feel very territorial! That’s my king! I’ve already told him, he better not have that. He will have a problem on his hands.”