The technologically advanced country of Wakanda will be introduced in Marvel Studios’ upcoming film, Black Panther. Actor John Kaniwill, who portrayed T’Chaka in Captain America: Civil War, recently spoke about how he aided the filmmakers in deciding on the official language of isiXhosa, for the hidden nation.
Kani discussed a scene in which T’Chaka is reunited with his son, and how he assisted the director, Ryan Coogler, in choosing the official language for Wakanda:
“The director and I were challenged with coming up with ideal thing to say to my son, played by my son in real life, Atandwa, in-line with the plot of the film. It had to be in the native language of ‘Wakanda’. I chose to say something isiXhosa in which the director and everyone on set loved; we need that, the director said.”
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“Black Panther” follows T’Challa who, after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his place as King. However, when an old enemy reappears on the radar, T’Challa’s mettle as King and Black Panther is tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the entire fate of Wakanda and the world at risk.
Directed by Ryan Coogler, the film stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Sterling K. Brown, Andy Serkis and John Kan.
Black Panther will hit theaters on February 16!
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