Michaela Coel to Play Queer Warrior in New Black Panther Film
Marvel recently confirmed that Michaela Coel is playing Aneka in the upcoming Black Panther movie, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, set for release later this year. Everyone is excited to see the talented actress’s performance in the film, and knowing she is playing Aneka has fans buzzing.
Aneka is a combat warrior in the Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s all-women special forces meant to protect the nation. In the comics, Aneka is queer and romantically partnered with Ayo, another member of the Dora Milaje, who is played by Florence Kasumba. Fans are hoping that Marvel will feature Aneka and Ayo’s relationship in the upcoming film and future films in the Black Panther franchise.
We're getting the fucking Midnight Angels, Florence Kasumba as Ayo sharing the screen with Michaela Coel as Aneka!! now all I need is for Marvel to allow Coogler and his team to make Ayo and Aneka super gay like they are in the comics. pic.twitter.com/lFuFyKh3rs
— André J. Daughtry, the J stands for… (@Tripping_Crutch) September 7, 2021
holy shit michaela coel is playing aneka lets go lesbians lets go!!!!! https://t.co/p1hV73gU6Z
— FREEN BIRTH (@SAPPHlST) July 24, 2022
Marvel’s track record with diversity and inclusion, in general, isn’t that great. Black Panther is the first non-white superhero Marvel has featured both in the comics and on film. Black Panther was first released in 2018. For the first non-white superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be released only four years ago seems far too late.
We’ve seen Marvel movies only featuring white heroes for at least 10 years before getting the first Black superhero. With movies like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,The Eternals, and characters like America Chavez and Valkyrie, Marvel has started to slowly implement LGBTQ and BIPOC characters on screen.
“There’s a lot that we have coming up that I think will be representative of the world of today. We’re not going to nail it in the first movie or the second movie or third movie, or the first show or second show, but we will do our best to consistently try to represent,” says Victoria Alonso, Marvel’s executive vice president of film production.
Marvel’s queer representation has been underwhelming throughout their recent releases as well. The most we’ve seen queer Marvel characters do is kiss their partners. Marvel has yet to portray a fully fleshed-out queer relationship on screen. Akena and Ayo is the perfect opportunity for them to present that to their starved queer fans looking for representation. Hopefully, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever portrays Michaela Coel’s character Akena in her full queerness as shown in the comics.
Screenshot courtesy of IMAX on YouTube
