Michael B Jordan explains how he kept Black Panther 2 return a secret

"Being able to keep it under wraps was really a tough thing."

By Shivani Dubey

4 Feb 2023

michael b jordan as erik killmonger, black panther

Marvel Studios

Michael B Jordan has opened up about how he managed to keep his return as Killmonger in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever a secret.

The actor made a surprise cameo in the film when Shuri goes to the Ancestral Plane. In an interview on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, he talked about how keeping all of that a secret was made possible.

"It's tough, I think this time around, because we lost our brother Chadwick – rest in peace to Chadwick Boseman – it was so much weight, to power through," he said.

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"And [director] Ryan Coogler had such a tremendous task in front of him to evolve the script and the story in a way that still kind of honoured Chadwick but moved the franchise forward as well.

"So for me to be able to come back – and I really had to keep it under wraps, I had to grow my hair out. You know, I got the locks back in and stuff like that. And I’m traveling a lot of places, so I’ve got to wear a hat, a hoodie, fly private, which isn’t too bad of a thing. But being able to keep it under wraps was really a tough thing,” he explained.

Jordan played Killmonger in the first film, where he fights Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa in a quest to rule Wakanda and be the next Black Panther. He is, however, defeated and killed in the film. He returns in the sequel as an ancestor to Shuri.

The film went on to gain critical acclaim for its sensitive handling of Boseman’s death, as well as for the way it carried the story forward. So much so that Angela Bassett, who played Queen Ramonda in the film, received a historic Oscar nomination for her role — making her the first Marvel actor to be nominated for an MCU film.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as well as the first film are streaming on Disney+.