For generations, the Dora Milaje have protected Wakanda and its monarch from threats at home and overseas, so you can imagine Okoye’s reaction to the news that Bucky Barnes (AKA the Winter Soldier) was granted sanctuary and asylum at the tail-end of Captain America: Civil War.
This is, after all, a dangerous, supercharged anti-hero with ties to HYRDA – he killed Tony Stark’s parents, for crying out loud! – and it’s only when Shuri begins to work her vibranium-powered magic that Bucky Barnes salvages some semblance of normality in time for Avengers: Infinity War.
As for Okoye, Danai Gurira (Black Panther, The Walking Dead) believes her on-screen warrior has nothing to fear, as she “knows how to disarm that arm.” That being said, she still has some reservations when it comes to Wakanda’s decision to open its doors to the wider world.
She hasn’t been excited about outsiders. You’ll see more [of] that. You’ll see that in a very clear way in the movie. Outsiders, they threaten what they’ve built up, but that’s the big question: Do we isolate, or do we open up? It’s an interesting thing that’s highly relevant to what we’re dealing with in various parts of the Western world, but it’s from an African perspective, so it’s really interesting. He’s one guy, so he’s manageable. She’s thought it through. She knows how to disarm that arm.
In a separate interview with io9, Gurira spoke more about the events of Black Panther and how they’ll have a ripple effect on Avengers: Infinity War and the remainder of the MCU.
There are other characters who are more ready to do it. She’s not ready. The changes that they go through, to the point where they are opening up their borders and they are letting people know who they are, is something that she really has to journey through.
Danai Gurira is one of several Black Panther stars expected to return for Infinity War, after it was confirmed that Angela Bassett (Queen Ramonda), Letitia Wright (Shuri), Chadwick Boseman (T’Challa) and the musclebound Winston Duke (M’Baku) will all be back on our screens from April 27th.
