“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” might face a major delay because of coronavirus rules and regulations for travel.
Letitia Wright — who plays the character Shuri, who will reportedly become the new Black Panther in the wake of Chadwick Boseman’s untimely death — has chosen to not be vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
- Her decision came after making anti-science claims on social media. She was also injured on the set of the film, which caused a shutdown.
- But Wright, who is a British citizen, faces another major obstacle since she isn’t vaccinated against the coronavirus and lives in London.
Per guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, any noncitizen, nonimmigrant air traveler must show proof of full vaccination to fly into the United States.
- “Which means that, even if Disney could arrange an exemption to have her work on the film’s Atlanta-based main set, the question of how to get her there suddenly becomes an extremely pressing one,” per AV Club.
For now, it’s unclear how the film will resume production without a change in either the COVID-19 regulations, production setting or Wright’s vaccination status.
But the “Black Panther” sequel has already gone through big changes. ”Black Panther 2” star Lupita Nyong’o told Yahoo! that director Ryan Coogler changed the script in a major way once Boseman, who played T’Challa/Black Panther, died.
- “And his idea, the way which he has reshaped the second movie is so respectful of the loss we’ve all experienced as a cast and as a world. So it feels spiritually and emotionally correct to do this,” she said. “And hopefully, what I do look forward to, is getting back together and honoring what he started with us and holding his light through it. Because he left us a lot of light that we’re still going to be bathing in. I know that for sure.”