Another exciting week of trailers headed your way!! And, just in case you missed a few of them on Super Bowl Sunday I included them here. See this week’s trailers below:
Welcome Home, Franklin (Streaming on Apple TV+ February 16th)
Iwájú (Streaming on Disney+ February 28th)
Scoop (Streaming on Netflix April 5th)
Knuckles (Streaming on Paramount+ April 26th)
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (In theaters May 10th)
Today’s celebration is about showcasing various interviews with the director and cast members…Nothing like hearing the thoughts and feelings from those involved. Check them out below:
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Tenoch Huerta on what he learned as Namor in the MCU
ScreenRant interview with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Lupita Nyong’o discussing her character Nakia and how she has changed after losing T’Challa, and her ties to Shuri and Ramonda.
ScreenRant interview with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Danai Gurira breaking down Okoye’s emotional arc and her relationship with the royal family.
ScreenRant interview with Black Panther:Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler as he talks Chadwick Boseman’s Legacy & Talokan’s Origins
Behind-the-scenes featurette from director Ryan Coogler
Today’s tribute/celebration is a collection of magazine covers featuring many of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast members!! Simply stunning!!
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast members [Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Dominique Thorne, Dominique Thorne, Danai Gurira, & Lupita Nyong’o] on the November/December 2022 issue of “EBONY”
Angela Bassett on the November 2022 issue of “Essence”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast members [l-r Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright & Tenoch Huerta] (above) and tributes to Talokan and Wakandan culture (below) on the November 2022 issue of “Empire”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast member Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, & Danai Gurira [above] and individual covers [below] on the November 2022 issue of ELLE
Lupita Nyong’o on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast members Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Dominique Thorne, Letitia Wright, and Tenoch Huerta on the cover of “Entertainment Weekly”
Michaela Coel on the cover the November 2022 issue of “VOGUE”
“True beauty is skin deep!!”….“Loving the skin that I’m in!”
As part of my regular routine, every morning I scroll through my Apple News app to see what is going on in the world. And yesterday I got wind of some exciting news!! Now as someone who is a collector of children’s books (particularly ones that feature Black children), so as you can imagine I was excited to know and get Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o’s 2019 book, “Sulwe”. This is a visually, captivating book that speaks to the Black girl experience, as it tells the story of a young, dark-skinned Black girl who wants to be accepted and seen as beautiful. And even before reading the first page of the book I was immediately drawn in based off of the cover!! All the varying blues and purple colors, the stars twinkling in the background, and then right front and center and image of a precocious Black girl reaching out! Here is a book that is literally talking to my 7-year old self!!
As noted by Nyong’o, “The story of Sulwe is one that is very close to my heart…It was a long journey for me to arrive at self-love. Sulwe is a mirror for dark-skinned children to see themselves, a window for those who may not be familiar with colorism, to have understanding and empathy.”
That excitement would continue as I would learn that Netflix has plans to unveil “Sulwe” (a New York Times bestselling children’s book) as an animated musical feature with Nyong’o as producer!!
Nyong’o tweeted on February 18th, 2021, “Sulwe is going to be an animated movie!! Thank you to the readers of all ages who have joined #Sulwe on her starry ride. I’m so excited for this next adventure on @Netflix! #BrightnessIsJustWhoYouAre
This is definitely something to celebrate as the animated musical feature will continue to highlight and showcase what the book has already established by providing another platform for Black girls to embrace the idea of #selflove; while also addressing issues of colorism and re-writing the beauty standard narrative. Having this message personified through various mediums of popular culture is crucial and can and is life-changing! For little Black girls to see themselves presented in a book and on the television screen that is shown in an empowering light, is quite powerful!!
And to tide you over before the animated feature hits Netflix check out Lupita reading “Sulwe” on the Netflix original series, Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices! see below:
“I cannot run away from who I am and my complexion or the larger society, and how they may view that.” ― Lupita Nyong’o
“I am dripping melanin and honey. I am black without apology.” ― Upile Chisala
Black Future Feminist 