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Black Panther 2: Winston Duke Breaks Silence on Being the New King of Wakanda


WARNING: This article contains spoilers about the ending of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Read at your own risk.

The final moments of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever gave us a glimpse of what's next for the surviving characters, including the surprising revelation of M'Baku defending his claim to be the new King of Wakanda during a quick scene in the Warrior Falls. It posed a question for someone fans on whether that moment was an indication that M'Baku is indeed taking the throne.

In a recent interview with Esquire, Winston Duke confirmed that his character M'Baku is now the new King of Wakanda as shown near the end of the film. He also shared his thoughts about his character's exciting future moving forward and what it may lead to.

"Yeah, it’s kind of cool to be revealed as the King of Wakanda at the end of the movie. That’s huge. So whatever that entails, it’s gonna be a fun one," he said.

He also gave a shoutout to Angela Bassett, who plays Queen Ramonda, and cited her performance as the character in the sequel as the inspiration for how the nation of Wakanda should be led.

"Queen Ramonda in Black Panther is just the most sacrificial queen. She even has a line when she says ‘I’ve lost my husband, my children. Everything. For this country. Have I not given enough?’," he noted.

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"Oh man, Angela is one of those icons that is so surreal to just being in her presence every day, because I grew up watching Angela Bassett in What’s Love Got To Do With It, you know, throwing that cigarette into the car and it explodes. And I’m gonna take this time to say thank you."

Duke ended his praise for the actress by thanking her, "Thank you Angela, thank you so much. Thank you for everything you’ve done, thank you for everything you continue to do, and thank you for the space you continue to occupy, unapologetically."

It is exciting to see that M'Baku, who became an instant fan-favorite during the first film, is now taking the throne in lieu of T'Challa's passing and it also poses another question of whether he will also end up becoming the new permanent Black Panther in the future of the MCU.

So far, while they have set up a lot of interesting directions for the characters, in the end, there's still no official confirmation yet whether Marvel is moving forward with a third Black Panther film yet or whether some of the characters will show up in another MCU project. Either way, at least we can look forward to another exciting future in the nation of Wakanda.

Also Read: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Fans Are Angry Over Major Digital Alteration on Namor

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently showing in theaters everywhere. You can check more details about it here.

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