Rogue One’s Forest Whitaker (Saw Gerrera) Cast in Marvel’s Black Panther
Marvel has announced that actor Forest Whitaker, who will play Saw Gerrera in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, has been cast in Black Panther…
Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker, who will portray Saw Gerrera in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, this December, has been cast in Marvel’s Black Panther. Marvel made the announcement from its official website, on Friday.
"Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker has joined the cast of Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther.” The film, directed by Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station,” “Creed”), has also added Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, and Florence Kasumba to an all-star lineup that includes Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, ruler of Wakanda, and Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, plus Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia and Danai Gurira as Okoye, members of the fierce Dora Milaje."
Whitaker isn’t the only Star Wars actor to play a role in Black Panther, as Lupita Nyong’o, who plays Maz Kanata in a motion capture role in the new Star Wars trilogy (The Force Awakens, Episode VIII), has also been cast in the Marvel film.
Image Credit: Vanity Fair
Here’s more on Whitaker, from Marvel:
"Whitaker (“Roots,” Lee Daniels’ “The Butler,” “The Last King of Scotland”) will play the role of Zuri, an elder [statesman] in Wakanda. Whitaker appears in this year’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” as fringe Rebel leader Saw Gerrera."
The nation of Wakanda was introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War, through Chadwick Boseman, who plays T’challa — Black Panther himself.
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It’s certainly neat to see Disney use the same great actors, from its other fantastic films. It will be interesting to see both Whitaker and Nyong’o act together in Black Panther. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will hit theaters worldwide this December 16, and Marvel’s Black Panther is set for a February 16, 2018re, release.