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Lupita Nyong'o, the Academy Award-winning Kenyan-Mexican actress, portrays the much-cherished character Nakia in the highly anticipated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The newly-released movie is a sequel to 2018's MCU global hit, Black Panther. Lupita opened up in EW's Around the Table interview about getting the opportunity to speak Spanish in the sequel movie.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was released in theaters on November 11, 2022. Since its release, the movie has been receiving a ton of positive responses from both the critics and the audience for its compelling storylines, extraordinary direction, cinematography, and powerful representations of multilingualism.
During the interview with EW, Lupita Nyong'o shed light on the fact that from the original movie Black Panther, her character Nakia has been juggling between multiple languages, and the opportunity to speak Spanish was simply a privilege. She said:
"This film represents different sides of my heritage." (Via EW)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actress Lupita Nyong'o says the opportunity to speak Spanish was an ode to her Mexican heritage
According to 39-year-old actress Lupita Nyong'o, speaking Spanish in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was a dream come true. She was highly excited as she always wanted to work in Spanish.
Nyong'o said:
"I was so excited about it,...It was just a straight gift. And I was very, very happy to do it... I've always wanted to work in Spanish and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that that opportunity would come in Black Panther." (Via EW)
The actress was born in Mexico City to Kenyan parents. So, speaking Spanish in the movie was an emotional feat for her.
The actress further said:
"Being born in Mexico and having that Mesoamerican culture represented, it's something that's very close to me." (Via EW)
It is not the first time Nyong'o's character, Nakia, has been seen speaking multiple languages in an MCU movie. In Black Panther, Nakia spoke in Korean in a scene portrayed in Busan, South Korea. In relation to that, the actress said:
"I always thought that was a very cool thing from the last movie that she spoke Korean, and I always thought that had never been seen before," (Via EW)
Learn all about Lupita Nyong'o's illustrious body of work
Lupita Nyong'o is best known for playing Patsey in 2013's 12 Years a Slave, for which she won an Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actress category.
Over the years, Lupita Nyong'o has also acted in several noteworthy movies, including Us, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Little Monsters, The Jungle Book (voice), Queen of Katwe, The 355 and Non-Stop.
The actress has also been a pivotal part of a few notable documentaries, and TV series, such as Shuga, Star Wars Forces of Destiny, Star Wars Rebels, Warrior Women with Lupita NyNyong'oSerengeti, Super Sema, Who Are You, Charlie Brown? and Human Resources.
Watch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is currently playing in theaters.
