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Former WWE champion Damian Priest has revealed he was cast in an undisclosed role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – but had it "taken away."
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Priest – who recently lost his World Heavyweight Championship in a match at SummerSlam – revealed that he was lined up to appear in the Black Panther sequel.
External forces outside Marvel Studios, however, led to him giving up the opportunity to appear in the 2022 MCU movie, which grossed close to $860 million at the worldwide box office.
"It's a long story but, basically, it got taken away from me – but not [by] Marvel," Priest said, while confirming he booked the role after doing auditions and screen tests. In response to the host Van Vliet's speculation that the WWE regime – which was then controlled by Vince McMahon – was different at the time, Priest responded: "Exactly."
Priest added, "I'm ready. Look, come what may, I'm good with it. Maybe I'd do something like that, I go a different route, and I'm not sitting here, being the world champion… There's no point in being miserable over something that did or didn’t [happen], but you can’t go back in time."
While it's difficult to pinpoint exactly who Priest would have played, rumors have long linked him with the role of Namor (which went to Tenoch Huerta) or his advisor Attuma (Alex Livinalli). We imagine the latter would have suited Priest well, given the stature and presence of the Talokan warrior.
Priest isn't the only WWE superstar who almost swapped the canvas for comic book movies. Randy Orton recently revealed he auditioned to play Cable in Deadpool 2, but didn't get any further in the process.
For more on all things Marvel, be sure to check out our guides to Marvel Phase 5 and upcoming Marvel movies. Still playing catch up? You'll need to know how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
