Next year, Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead) will make her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Ryan Coogler's Black Panther, but it won't be a one-and-done appearance. In 2018, Gurira will return in Marvel Studios' Russo Brothers-directed Avengers: Infinity War.
Deadline reported that the Zimbabwean-American actress had joined the Earth's Mightiest Heroes’ third outing. Interestingly, the website couldn’t confirm that she would play Okoye, her Black Panther character, in the May 4, 2018 release.
To be honest, it's a no-brainer that Gurira will play Okoye in Avengers: Infinity War. Alfre Woodard portrayed two different characters in Captain America: Civil War and Marvel's Luke Cage, both of whom are technically MCU characters, but it's an open secret that the studio doesn't worry about connections between its movies and television shows as much it does about connections between movies.
Kenneth Choi played Howling Commando Jim Morita in Captain America: The First Avenger and in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2. He also portrayed Peter Parker's school principal in Spider-Man: Homecoming. But, according to a leaked cast sheet, his character was Principal Morita, who is a descendant of the previous character. Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War aren't set in different time periods like the first Captain America and Spider-Man movies, so Gurira can't be playing an ancestor and a descendant!
Moreover, recent reports suggested that Winston Duke's Man-Ape and Letitia Wright's Shuri will return for the Russo Brothers flick, and Chadwick Boseman announced his arrival on the set via Twitter. Also, the directors teased on Instagram that they would shoot some Wakanda scenes in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. So adding Gurira as Okoye makes sense.
Danai Gurira will also stand beside Chadwick Boseman in Avengers: Infinity War! (GIF via Tumblr)
