Home Movies

Joe Russo Says To Expect More Of Danai Gurira’s Okoye In Avengers 4

While Avengers: Infinity War was about every MCU hero under the sun (and several alien suns) coming together for one big superhero jamboree, Avengers 4 is necessarily going to be a little more focused. That's because... well... most of our favorites crumbled into dust when Thanos snapped his fingers in the film's climax. Notable survivors were the original Avengers lineup of Black Widow, Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and (we can safely assume) Hawkeye. But aside from them, it's sounding as if some less prominent characters might get a bit more time in the spotlight.

While Infinity War was about every MCU hero under the sun (and several alien suns) coming together for one big superhero jamboree, Avengers 4 is going to be a little more focused.

Recommended Videos

That’s because… well… most of our favorites crumbled into dust when Thanos snapped his fingers in the film’s climax. Notable survivors were the original Avengers lineup of Black Widow, Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and (we can safely assume) Hawkeye. But aside from them, it’s sounding as if some less prominent characters might get a bit more time in the spotlight, too.

One of them’s Danai Gurira’s Okoye, who nearly stole the show from T’Challa in several scenes in Black Panther and was a memorable presence in the Battle of Wakanda in Infinity War. Now, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Joe Russo has spoken about his ambitions for her, saying:

“Danai did, I thought, amazing work in Infinity War. And I think that that character is very powerful and super compelling and I think there’s a lot of places to go with that character.”

He was then asked how she might react to T’Challa dying in front of her, and here’s what he said:

“Her goal in life, her mission in life is protect the king and watching him evaporate in front of her and there is nothing she can do about it is really taking that source of pride from her and that duty. It challenges her in the most painful way possible.”

Given how great Black Panther was, I’m all for Avengers 4 featuring a renewed focus on the Wakandan survivors. We already know that Wakanda’s Queen Mother, Ramonda and super scientist badass Princess Shuri walked out of Infinity War alive, so perhaps we might see Shuri donning the mantle of the Black Panther (as she eventually did in the comics) and tasking Okoye with mentoring her in the ways of battle?

Whatever happens, more Okoye is always fine by me.