Academy Award-nominated actress and American Horror Story resident Angela Bassett has just been announced as part of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther cast.
The film, being directed by Creed’s Ryan Coogler, is set for a February 16, 2018 release and already has an incredible cast. Bassett joining their team is an amazing bonus. Marvel.com made the announcement this afternoon in short, writing that Bassett will be playing Ramonda, the mother of T’Challa, aka Black Panther. Yup, she’s royalty.
In the comics, Queen Ramonda is T’challa’s surrogate mother (his biological mother died giving birth to him) and wife of King T’Chaka. It’s unclear how the Marvel cinematic universe will handle the relationship between the two but we already know T’Chaka was killed in Captain America: Civil War and I’m sure that means Bassett’s role will be very important. Saying any more about her comic backstory at this point may be considered spoilery so I’ll leave it at that.
Not too long ago the film added Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker (soon to be seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as an elder statesman in Wakanda. Chadwick Boseman is of course reprising his Civil War role as T’Challa/Black Panther and will be joined by Michael B. Jordan (playing villain Erik Killmonger), Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, and Florence Kasumba (who will also be expanding her brief role from Civil War). Marvel held an open casting call earlier this month to find extras to make Wakanda into a living, breathing country.
Basset not only starred in American Horror Story: Roanoke this year but directed one of its episodes. She’s also currently starring in the British miniseries Close to the Enemy.
