Black Panther 2 star Danai Gurira explains how Ryan Coogler's directing allowed the actors to explore grief through their characters. After the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever went through script changes to incorporate the loss of T'Challa into the story while the cast and crew were mourning their dear friend throughout the production. The movie will mirror this with the people of Wakanda grieving their leader and protector.

Grief, loss, and legacy will be major themes in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with Okoye, Nakia, Queen Ramonda, and Shuri facing them throughout the movie. With Coogler's leadership and guidance, the trailers and early reactions to the film make it clear everyone involved brought their own feelings into the project making the characters' experiences more raw and real. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will not only tackle the loss of T'Challa, but a new threat to the nation in Namor, as well as the rise of a new Black Panther.

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During Screen Rant's exclusive interview with Gurira, she talks about Coogler's collaborative directing style and how it gives the actors the space to incorporate their own emotions. She describes his style as guiding instead of controlling. Gurira breaks down how Coogler's understanding of grief and the characters' emotions was a huge part of the process of making Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Read what Gurira had to say below:

[Ryan]'s very collaborative, but he also very much sees the vision very vividly, and he really understood how he was exploring grief through these characters and how each of them was at a different place with it and was responding to it very differently. He was very able to really dig deep with us on that.

Someone said, 'How did he instruct?' And he doesn't instruct, he's more of a guide. He more feels like a collaborator. He's guiding you into the nuances of the character's journey in a way that is... and just a human journey, understanding the humanness in the character's walk. And when he talks you're like, 'Oh my God, this guy's so wise.' And then you start to see all that's underneath what he's trying to get done. Then the other part of it is he also allows you to pour in what you are feeling is really visceral for your character and really makes sense for them to play.

How Ryan Coogler's Directing Style Elevates His Films

Okoye crying in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

It's clear from Gurira's comments that Coogler exploring grief through Black Panther: Wakanda Forever allowed everyone involved in the film to bring their own feelings to the surface through storytelling. Coogler found an ability to balance the real sorrow that everyone was feeling with that of the characters and the nuances of their stories. Coogler's directing style being collaborative, guiding the story and performances instead of controlling them, seems like an integral part of this process and has proved essential in his past projects as well.

The world doesn't stop after a great loss, with the characters in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever facing war as they mourn their king. The process of grieving is at the heart of Black Panther 2 with Coogler infusing his own reality and that of the cast into the story. All told, the freedom that the cast had to explore their own truths and bring them into their performances could lead to some of the most visceral and gut-wrenching storytelling and acting in the MCU thus far.

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