Black Panther Premieres Around Africa – Learn about Star Danai Gurira’s work

This is going to be a good month. The bank balances surely won’t survive this year, with all the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies that are coming out this year. This month we have Black Panther then later in the year Antman then the big one and the first movie in the Future phase of the MCU, Avengers: Infinity Wars. Please, don’t get me started on infinity wars. That’s a post for another life. I don’t know how well known it is that Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead and Black Panther star) is Zimbabwean. In Black Panther, she plays the character of Okoye, the general of the Dora Milaje and the head of Wakanda‘s armed forces and Intel. That’s pretty cool!

I mean, she stars in a movie that has broken several records before it turns a month old. Most tweeted movie, Highest preSales for a superhero movie (trumping Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice – which then turned into the ultimate disappointment) and highest presales for an MCU movie among some of the accolades. Look, you can just read about it here

Allow me to digress on this Wakanda and Zimbabwe relationship. Apparently, the ideology of Wakanda is actually built on an ancient Zimbabwean empire that was known as the Mutapa empire. No, I’m not just saying that because I’m from Zimbabwe! The Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman who plays T’Challa the Black Panther said it himself in an interview with the New York Times. It would have been dodgy if it was an interview with You! or People Magazine but now we must believe it. Chad said it in an email interview so I have no video proof but you can trust me.

“…actor Chadwick Boseman, who plays Black Panther on screen, told The New York Times that Wakanda is a fictional version of “the Mutapa empire of 15th-century Zimbabwe.”

Something people know less than the fact that she is Zimbabwean, is that Danai Gurira is an amazing playwright and has won a Tony award for one her plays, Eclipsed. She has won several accolades with amazing talents like Lupita N’yongo acting in her plays. She loves theatre and it’s something she actively promotes very much. She has even set up a collaborative arts organization called Almasi to help share her knowledge and encourage African storytelling.

We caught up with Danai for this podcast interview when she came to Zimbabwe a few weeks ago for a playwrights festival. Find out how Danai feels about the characters she has gotten to play as well as how she practices the swordplay for The Walking Dead (TWD). Definitely an actress with so much depth who has played more badass characters than Michone from TWD which she was previously known for. Look I won’t spoil it, take a listen. Listen to the podcast on iono.fm below:

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I really can’t wait for Black Panther to come to Zimbabwe. 15 February is the day. talk about the perfect Valentine’s Day present!