“Surprise” A-List celebrity cameos have become A Thing in big tentpole movies, so much so, that they’re generally advertised well in advance. So-and-so is gonna be a stormtrooper! and all that. Which is why the fact that a certain cameo in Black Panther is only now coming to light is surprising in and of itself.
So, where in Wakanda were you @Trevornoah? #BlackPanther pic.twitter.com/5gLYZDImE1
— Bryan Steinkohl (@olympichero03) May 16, 2018
As reported over at The AV Club, a fan snagged the above screencap during the end credits of Black Panther spotlighting the fact that Trevor Noah apparently played the role of “Griot.” Did you catch that? Nope, I didn’t either. You wouldn’t have caught Noah’s face on-screen, though. “Griot” is the name of the A.I. within the Wakandan ship Shuri invented that Martin Freeman’s CIA agent, Everett Ross, pilots during Black Panther‘s final big battle.
When you listen to it knowing it’s Noah, it seems really obvious, and I’m kinda mad that I couldn’t pick his voice out as I watched it:
It’s amazing that Noah himself has kept the secret of his cameo this long and this well, considering that he’s been enthusiastically covering the film on The Daily Show, not only interviewing its stars but talking about the film on his own. He must have been extremely proud to take part in this way, considering that he’s long praised the film for its use of Xhosa, his mother’s native language.
In one of his Daily Show monologues, he addressed use of the language specifically saying, “It was extra special for me because the people speak Xhosa in the movie. There were subtitles, and I was like, I don’t need your subtitles! I don’t need your subtitles! This is just for me right now! Nobody else listen! This reminds me of my mom.”
It must have felt pretty awesome for the native South African to take part in the film in this way. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go pop in my Black Panther Blu-ray to scan the credits and see if there are any other cameos we’ve missed!
(image: screencap/Marvel)
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