‘Wakanda Forever’ Star Lupita Nyong’o on Healing After Chadwick Boseman’s Death (Exclusive)

On Tuesday night, Lupita hit the NYC premiere of “Wakanda Forever” in a look inspired by her character Nakia.

“Extra’s” Carlos Greer spoke with Lupita about how difficult it was to film the sequel after the death of Chadwick Boseman and how the movie helped her process her grief.

Lupita admitted, “It was tough. I’ve never done anything like it. I don’t know whether I ever will do a thing like this again where the arts so directly imitate life and I’m asked to create in a time when I feel empty and lost.”

“This film, because it leaned into the truth of what we lost, it actually helped me heal… it helped me process the grief and put it to good use and for that I’m eternally grateful to Ryan [Coogler].”

Lupita praised Ryan for “making beauty out of [the] pain” that the cast was feeling from the loss of Chadwick.

Did she feel any pressure to top the first “Black Panther”? Nyong’o answered, “When Chadwick died, all that went out the window. You just learned to prioritize life differently… I just focused on showing up every day and living my best life and giving my best.”

As for how excited she was for the sequel to come out, Lupita said, “There’s been a lot of build up to this moment and we made it to be seen so it’s exciting to finally be giving it to the people it was made for.”

Nyong’o hoped the fans will “feel seen” when they watch the movie. She explained, “The way Ryan tells stories, he’s like hell-bent on helping us seeing ourselves better and just illuminating what is beautiful and worth fighting for in the human condition.”

According to Lupita, the movie touches on grief, but “doesn’t leave you feeling down and out, it actually offers hope.”

Carlos also spoke with Lupita’s co-star Danai Gurira, who believes that Chadwick would be “proud” of the new movie. She said, “That is really what sustains us and makes me fulfilled by this process because we’re celebrating him. It was all about him, it was all about his legacy.”