We have learned that Autumn Durald will serve as the cinematographer on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, replacing director Ryan Coogler’s long-time collaborator Rachel Morrison who shot the first film.
Autumn Durald most recently served as the cinematographer on all 6 episodes of Loki, and has received high praise from fans and critics alike for her fantastic visuals on the series so far. Michael Waldron serves as the head writer on Loki with Kate Herron directing all 6 episodes. Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Richard E. Grant, and Tara Strong all star in the series that will release its final two episodes every Wednesday until July 14.
Autumn Durald is also known for collaborating with Gia Coppola, shooting her directorial debut Palo Alto as well as her most recent film, Mainstream. Durald’s other cinematography credits include Emma Forrest’s Untogether, Max Minghella’s Teen Spirit, and Ry Russo-Young’s The Sun Is Also A Star. She has also shot various music videos from high profile artists such as SZA, The Weeknd, and Travis Scott.
Autumn Durald takes over for Rachel Morrison, who reunited with Ryan Coogler on Black Panther after shooting his feature debut, Fruitvale Station. Morrison was seemingly set to return as the cinematographer for Wakanda Forever, however, scheduling conflicts with her upcoming directorial debut Flint Strong seemed to have made that reality an impossibility. In an interview earlier last year, Morrison already mentioned how COVID-19 delaying production on Flint Strong could result in her not being able to commit to the Black Panther sequel, she says “If we had gone back in September, I think we could make it, but now it’s a bit of a moment of truth for everyone to realize if my movie is definitely going back in January that I probably won’t be able to do [Wakanda Forever] which is devastating to me.”
It has been previously reported that the production team behind Black Panther: Wakanda Forever could be significantly different from the previous entry with the rumored addition of Queen of Katwe and Guava Island costume designer Mobolaji Dawodu, rather than Ruth E. Carter who won a long- overdue Academy Award for Best Costume Design on the first film. That being said, Hannah Beachler, who won an Academy Award for Best Production Design on the first Black Panther, is said to be returning for the sequel.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever just begun production this week, with Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Martin Freeman all set to reprise their respective roles. Tenoch Huerta has been cast in the sequel, his recent credits include Narcos: Mexico and The Forever Purge, which releases later this week. It was also reported earlier this month by The Illuminerdi that Huerta will be taking on the pivotal role of Namor the Submariner in the sequel, the rest of the new cast additions are currently unknown.
Kevin Feige and Ryan Coogler have confirmed that they will not recast the role of T’Challa in the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman following a private, four-year battle with colon cancer. Coogler recently talked with The Hollywood Reporter about moving forward with developing the Black Panther sequel without Chadwick Boseman, “You’ve got to keep going when you lose loved ones. I know Chad wouldn’t have wanted us to stop. He was somebody who was so about the collective. ‘Black Panther’, that was his movie. He was hired to play that role before anybody else was even thought of, before I was hired, before any of the actresses were hired. On that set, he was all about everybody else. Even though he was going through what he was going through, he was checking in on them, making sure they were good. If we cut his coverage, he would stick around and read lines off camera [to help other actors with their performances]. So it would be harder for me to stop. Truthfully. I’d feel him yelling at me, like, ‘What are you doing?’ So you keep going.”
At the Black Widow world premiere fan event earlier this week, Kevin Feige spoke about the commencement of production on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, saying “It’s clearly very emotional without Chad. But everyone is also very excited to bring the world of Wakanda back to the public and back to the fans. We’re going to do it in a way that would make Chad proud.”
Ryan Coogler returns as director for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and has also signed a 5-year exclusive television deal through his production company, Proximity Media, to develop a range of television projects for Disney’s various networks and streaming outlets including ABC, Hulu, and Disney+. One of these projects includes an untitled Wakanda series for Disney+ which Coogler said that they “are especially excited that we will be taking our first leap with Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and their partners at Marvel Studios where we will be working closely with them on select MCU shows for Disney+.”
