DANAI GURIRA (44)

The Zimbabwean-American actress returns as General Okoye, head of Wakanda’s military forces and the Dora Milaje, the Black Panther’s allfemale bodyguards.

Faithful Okoye remains fiercely loyal to her country. “She’d gladly give her life for it”, Danai says.

She adds that one of the first film’s greatest accomplishments was the creation of “full characters that killed stereotypes about what a superhero or heroism looks like”.

The actress, who visited Ghana recently, told Entertainment Weekly that whenever she visits an African country – including SA, Nigeria and Zambia – she hears about how Black Panther changed someone’s life.

“There’s still so much active love and appreciation for this character, for this work, for this story. I was already part of a franchise {The Walking Dead] before, but the way [the sequel] is grounded in Africa and the expression of Africans really is unprecedented.”

It was important for the cast to honour Chadwick’s legacy and his character, she says.

“There was this amazing impact the first Black Panther had so the need was to solidify that these characters and this world have an arc. It wasn’t a one-time momentous thing,” she says. “I remember sitting with [director] Ryan [Coogler] and he helped me process what felt different this time: it was grief. So grief intermingled with our process.”