“Black Panther” breakout star Winston Duke plays M’Baku, the leader of one of the five Wakandan tribes, the Jibari tribe in a his first ever film role. That’s quite a feat out the gates, given the movie’s massive box office run so far.
As the film has continued to wow moviegoers, Duke dropped by TheWrap Studios to discuss its cultural impact and even offered a tidbit about “Avengers: Infinity War.”
“It feels like I’m watching all this stuff unfold since this is my first film,” Duke said. “I’ve never experienced anything like this, much less this new sensation that’s wrapped around this cultural movement of a film.”
Duke discussed the benefit of families and children getting to see something entirely new on screen. “Now they get to say, ‘Hey, you see this is a prime example of what can be achieved if you just try, if you want it.’”
So what’s next for the Yale educated Duke? He is not done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Just working on ‘The Avengers,’” said Duke. “Staying in Marvel land and just committed to that right now.”
Now that audiences have fallen in love with “Black Panther,” Dukes shared what’s at stake for Wakanda in “Avengers: Infinity War.”
“We’ve now been introduced to Wakanda,” said Duke. “We’ve been introduced to a new landscape, new soundscape, new culture, new people to really root for and love. What’s going to happen is all that, that you love, you’re now vested in these new group of people, and people that have been set up for the past however many years, all these different franchises and all that is going to be threatened when you meet this new big bad Thanos… And it’s going to be wild.”
“Black Panther” is currently in theaters. “Avengers: Infinity War” opens May 4.