Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Adds Daniel Kaluuya to Voice Cast

Between Nope, Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul and the documentary on his beloved Arsenal, All or Nothing, Daniel Kaluuya is busier than ever. But, with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever set to hit theaters Friday, Nov. 11, fans have questions about W’Kabi, his complicated character from 2018’s Black Panther. When we last saw him, he had surrendered to Okoye after siding with Killmonger and taking up arms against T’Challa. Though things got a little crazy with Thanos turning half the universe to dust, there’s no doubt the king’s former advisor suffered steep consequences for his betrayal. In an interview with CinemaBlend, writer/director Ryan Coogler explained where W’Kabi stands heading into Wakanda Forever.

“He’s basically banished, but still within Wakanda’s borders, if that makes sense,” Coogler said. “It’s one line that refers to him still being alive.”

Read more

• Aside from Halle Bailey, Here Are Other Black Disney Actors and Characters We Love

• Best Streaming Service for your Black Dollar in October

As previously reported by The Root, the Oscar-winner wasn’t able to appear in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever due to scheduling conflicts with filming Nope. Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s completely out of the MCU, we could still see W’Kabi return in a future project. And with the multiverse taking center stage, it may not be the one we’re familiar with.

In the meantime, Kaluuya isn’t done with the superhero world, as he’s joining the cast of another highly-anticipated sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. According to Variety, he will voice Hobart “Hobie” Brown, a.k.a. Spider-Punk, in the follow-up to the Academy Award-winning animated hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. In April, as part of Sony’s CinemaCon presentation, it was revealed that Across the Spider-Verse goes to six different universes and features 240 characters, so we don’t really know how big Kaluuya’s part is. However, I have to think the studio wouldn’t go through all the trouble of paying for an Oscar-winning major movie star just to do a quick cameo. Worst case scenario, he has a small role in the second film, but it sets up a larger part in the third movie, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (PART ONE) – First Look

The Get Out actor joins a voice cast that includes returning stars Shameik Moore as Miles Morales/Spider-Man; Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman; Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099; Brian Tyree Henry as Miles’ father Jefferson Davis; Luna Lauren Velez as Miles’ mother Rio Morales; and new addition Issa Rae as Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is scheduled to crawl into theaters June 2.

More from The Root

• 15 Beloved Black Banned Books You Must Read Now [UPDATED]

• 15 Priceless Black Twitter Moments Worth Remembering

Sign up for The Root's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.