Black Panther director Ryan Coogler addresses why Daniel Kaluuya isn't in Wakanda Forever

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The director has revealed where W'Kabi is during Black Panther 2

Daniel Kaluuya in Black Panther
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever does not see the return of Daniel Kaluuya's W'Kabi, despite the character being a major player in the first Black Panther movie. When Killmonger took the throne of Wakanda, W'Kabi supported him – and it's because of this that you won't see him in the sequel. 

"He's basically banished, but still within Wakanda's borders, if that makes sense," director Ryan Coogler told CinemaBlend. "It's one line that refers to him still being alive." 

So, while the movie does address the character's absence, he doesn't actually appear. Another factor in his absence, though, is that Kaluuya was busy filming Jordan Peele's Nope, so scheduling conflicts stopped him from returning for the Marvel sequel. 

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Wakanda Forever sees the return of Letitia Wright's Shuri, Danai Gurira's Okoye, Angela Bassett's Ramonda, Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia, and Winston Duke's M'Baku. Newcomers to the cast include Michaela Coel as Aneka, Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, and Tenoch Huerta as Namor. In the sequel, Wakanda – and a new Black Panther – go up against Namor and his underwater kingdom of Talokan. 

While no Black Panther 3 has been announced just yet, Kevin Feige has revealed that "conversations" have occurred with Coogler about a threequel, but the director himself hasn't confirmed his return. 

"I go back to what I said when we decided to make Wakanda Forever after losing Chad," Feige said of a third movie. "This mythology and this ensemble and these characters deserve to continue and will continue after all of us are gone, I hope, and will continue forever in movies the way it has in comics for 50-plus years."

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in theaters now. If you're up to speed on the movie, check out our explainers on: 

Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film section. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.