Most people would assume that Danai Gurira got the role of Okoye in "Black Panther" because of the way she portrays Michonne in "The Walking Dead." After all, anyone who has seen a formidable character like Michonne in action would say that she would make a perfect bodyguard for the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman).
In an interview with ComicBook.com, Gurira revealed that director Ryan Coogler never watched "The Walking Dead." She said that Coogler picked her because of her performance as Adenike in an independent film called "Mother of George." Well, that was an unexpected revelation.
While Okoye and Michonne are two very different characters, Gurira stated that their skill sets also share some similarities.
"I'm training right now for 'Black Panther,' and, yes, there's a lot of ways that they're extremely different. I'm learning such great, awesome new things. There's a lot of ways that, yes, one helps another. There are things about using combat that help each other. Absolutely. There's a lot of new things to learn and I'm really enjoying. There's so much new. She's a whole 'nother thing. Okoye is a whole 'nother thing," she said.
If Okoye ever gets her hands on a katana or any type of sword, her opponents will have to beware. Besides Gurira and Boseman, "Black Panther" will also feature Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia aka Malice, Winston Duke as M'Baku aka Man-Ape, Forest Whitaker as Zuri, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, and Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi. Reports say Letitia Wright is going to play a character named Serita. This character has no comic book counterpart.
Sources also say Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman may reprise their roles as Ulysses Klaue aka Klaw and Everett K. Ross, respectively. This hasn't been confirmed yet, though. Both characters appeared in "Avengers: Age of Ultron."
"Black Panther" is set to premiere on Feb. 16, 2018.
