‘Black Panther’ is finally upon us!
After much ado, the world will journey to Wakanda in Marvel’s blockbuster action-flick.
To celebrate its arrival, its star-studded cast feature on three separate covers of ESSENCE Magazine‘s March issue.
The ladies featured (above) are Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wright.
While Chadwick Boseman, Forest Whitaker, Michael B. Jordan, and Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya pose together on theirs.
Elsewhere, Boseman (who leads in the title role) boasts his own solo cover.
- DANAI GURIRA ON WHAT THE ROLE MEANT TO HER: “The idea of creating a scenario where you’re seeing very powerful, empowered Africans is really thrilling to me, something my heart, soul and spirit yearned to see…”
- LUPITA NYONG’O ON THE WONDER OF WAKANDA: “For me, as an African in this film, to walk on set and to see these incredible costumes and hairdos, these are the things I grew up seeing, but they’ve just been elevated to a fantastical place. We’re going to experience the richness of the continent, because the continent is what has informed us of what Wakanda could be…”
- ANGELA BASSETT ON PLAYING A QUEEN [Excerpt]: “When Angela Bassett received the call from [director] Coogler asking if she would play T’Challa’s stepmother, Queen Ramona, she had never heard of the character. ‘…Just to have an opportunity to portray that image—me, a little Black girl from the Florida projects. Playing a queen was just unattainable, unavailable. Even in a fictitious world, a Black woman cannot be a queen,’ she scoffs. ‘Why can’t I be?…’”
FOREST WHITAKER ON THE GENIUS OF DIRECTOR RYAN COOGLER: “His films always have some message about the depth of humanity, bringing out the voices of people of color while finding the universal connection that brings us together as one…”
- LETITIA WRIGHT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FILM: “We understand the responsibility. That it can shift mind-sets. I can be a Black superhero. I can be a scientist. I’m a queen. I’m a young prince. It’s not about me. It’s bigger than me. It’s bigger than all of us…”