'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' has announced that it temporarily shuts down production as the Shuri depicter continues to recover from her injury in London.
- Nov 11, 2021
AceShowbiz - "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" could be facing a bigger problem than it is publicly acknowledged following Letitia Wright's on-set injury. The actress may not be able to return to the U.S. to work on the movie because of her alleged anti-vaccination stance.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources say that the Shuri depicter is not vaccinated. She currently stays in London, where she returned to after sustaining injury on the set back in August. As pointed out by the site, "now, a return to the U.S. for a possible shoot in Atlanta, where 'Wakanda Forever' is based, could be an issue."
"On November 8, the CDC implemented rules that require all non-immigrant, non-citizen air travelers to the U.S. be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination status before boarding a plane. Wright is not a U.S. citizen," it further states. Disney remains mum when reached for comment on the matter.
Earlier this month, it was announced that production on the movie is temporarily shut down as Wright continues to recover from her injury, which she sustained during the filming in Boston in late August. At the time, it was reported that she suffered minor injuries on a stunt rig incident and was soon discharged from the hospital. However, she's still unable to return to work.
With Wright's absence, director Ryan Coogler has reportedly shot all scenes that his crew is able without the actress. Sources say the production is taking the hiatus to reconfigure the shoot to get things back on track for an early 2022 restart.
Meanwhile, a representative for Wright said in a statement to THR, "Letitia has been recovering in London since September from injuries sustained on the set of 'Black Panther 2' and is looking forward to returning to work early 2022." The rep added, "Letitia kindly asks that you keep her in your prayers."
Following the untimely passing of its lead star Chadwick Boseman, Marvel Studios announced that they would not be recasting the role of T'Challa. Instead, Wright's character Shuri is elevated as the lead of the sequel.
However, she has given herself a bad rep when she questioned the legitimacy of Covid-19 vaccines in December 2020, forcing her to quit social media following the backlash that she received. Later in October, she denied reports that she's promoting an anti-vaccine agenda on the set of the "Black Panther" sequel, insisting that it's "completely untrue."
