Before becoming an adored couple on Black Panther, the late Chadwick Boseman and Lupita Nyong'o nearly featured as key characters on another Marvel Cinematic Universe offering as casting director Sarah Halley Finn confirms they nearly appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy.
In an excerpt from MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios published via Vanity Fair, Finn revealed Boseman and Nyong'o auditioned to play Drax the Destroyer and Gamora in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy. Though the duo ultimately lost out on the beloved roles to Dave Bautista and Zoë Saldaña, Finn was impressed enough by their showings that she recommended them to star in Black Panther.
Finn's decision ultimately paid off, with Boseman's T'Challa and Nyong'o's Nakia becoming fan-favorite characters for the MCU faithful in one of the most successful films ever in the shared universe. While Black Panther marked the MCU debut for Nyong'o, the film was Boseman's second Marvel effort after featuring in 2016's Captain America: Civil War. He later stood alongside the Guardians during the last two Avengers movies, Infinity War and Endgame.
Tragically, Nyong'o didn't get the chance to reunite with her on-screen love interest in the Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever, after Boseman passed away in 2020 following a battle with colon cancer, aged 43. Wakanda Forever was subsequently rewritten to both pay tribute to Boseman throughout and kill off T'Challa via a mysterious illness. T'Challa's legacy was also kept alive thanks to a major reveal during the post-credits scenes of Wakanda Forever when Nakia told Shuri (Letitia Wright) she secretly had a son with Wakanda's king before his passing, raising the youngster in Haiti.
Lupita Nyong'o Recently Paid Tribute to Chadwick Boseman
Nyong'o paid tribute to Boseman on the three-year anniversary of his passing in August, revealing that it "took months to trust the feeling of joy again" after receiving news of his death while also praising him for the "love generated from the life he lived." Boseman was granted a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in the film industry, which also includes featured roles in 42, Marshall and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Meanwhile, Nyong'o stars in John Krasinski's upcoming post-apocalyptic horror movie, A Quiet Place: Day One, which is scheduled for release on Mar. 8, 2024.
The Black Panther franchise proved a success thanks to the work of Boseman, Nyong'o, Wright, Angela Bassett and everyone else cast in its two movies. The 2018 original earned $1.344 billion at the international box office and won three Academy Awards while Wakanda Forever grossed $859.2 million in international ticket sales, nabbing Bassett a Golden Globe Award and Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, both firsts for the MCU.
Fans can stream both Black Panther films via Disney+.
Source: Vanity Fair