Danai Gurira’s Return to Black Panther and a Disney+ Series Has Made Me Snatch off My Wig and Throw It With Reckless Abandon

Reports indicate that National Treasure Danai Gurira will be returning as Dora Milaje General Okoye in both Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and quite possibly in an “origin spinoff” series of her own on Disney+. Granted, I didn’t have much doubt about her returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s great to see confirmation that the woman who literally threw her wig at her opponent is coming back.

Bless.

While we don’t have details on what the movie sequel or the series will be about, I have a fangirl wishlist that I’ve been building ever since we saw Wakanda’s fate in Avengers: Infinity War.

I’m still salty that we never really got to see how the events in Avengers: Infinity War impacted Wakanda in Avengers: Endgame. After watching the heartbreaking scene where Okoye losses T’Challa from “The Snap” (which, for reasons, I don’t think I can ever watch again), I’ve been wanting to see how she’s been holding up after everything. I’m kinda miffed that we only got one small scene of her talking with Natasha about the state of affairs—via online communication—before she came through the portal with T’Challa and Shuri to fight Thanos.

Okoye, from what we’ve seen in the MCU so far, lost T’Challa twice (once in Black Panther and again in Infinity War), struggled with her sense of duty when Killmonger had that brief period as king, lost Shuri (as we learn in Avengers: End Game) and who knows how many other Wakandans. The truly ironic thing is that this happened after T’Challa decided to be different from his ancestors and open Wakanda to the rest of the world.

We are long overdue for some Okoye content beyond her joining the Marvel girl squad in a climactic battle.

Maybe that’ll be covered in the movie sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever since sources indicate that the Disney+ series is gonna be an origin spinoff. This would likely be a solo series focusing on Okoye and is a separate project from the Wakanda series in development by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler.

Speaking of that series, while I’m not usually one to lose my shit over an origin series, I have been staring longingly at the edge of the Wakandan borders in the hopes of seeing more of its lush history on the big, and now, small screen. Ever since that move or you will be moved introduction of the Dora Milaje via Ayo back in Captain America: Civil War, I’ve been eager for more content that centered on this team of women.

And, full disclosure, I’ve been more on board with the Marvel series because it’s a chance to develop characters, and worlds, that need more than two hours. There is so much to be explored with Wakanda, with Okoye, with the Dora Milaje, hell, the neighboring tribes. My fangirl heart is hoping that the series takes time for all of these things, especially the Dora Milaje and the relationships within the group.

Yes, I want the World of Wakanda comics to happen in some capacity because I want LGBTQ+ content with my Dora Milaje please and thank you. Beyond that, I just really want to spend more time with these women and see the group develop a solid bond that gets us a clean formation like this:

If the origin series is how Okoye became general and produced these kinds of results, I’m all in.

There’s no release date for the series, but Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is scheduled to hit theaters July 8, 2022.

(Image: Marvel)

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