*With each piece of content she creates. Michaela Coel seems determined to bring about change and challenge perceptions. The British/Ghanaian actress landed a role in the upcoming Marvel adventure “Wakanda Forever.” She hopes her role will have the same impact in Ghana.
“Wakanda Forever” is the sequel to “Black Panther” film, a fictional African utopia. Coel plays Aneka, a new character who is a captain of the Dora Milaje, which is an all-female army of warriors in Wakanda. Aneka goes against the law when she falls in love with Ayo (Florence Kasumba), a fellow fighter.
In an interview with Vogue, Coel opened up about her experience in “Wakanda Forever,” revealing that the character she plays has a queer identity — and that’s the major reason she accepted it and agreed to join the film cast.
“That sold me on the role, the fact that my character’s queer,” she explained. “I thought: I like that, I want to show that to Ghana.”
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The reason she wants Ghana to take note of her role in “Wakanda Forever” is that it is a country that still has oppressive and outdated laws around sexuality. Ghana is modernizing fast while also building and courting members of the diaspora around the world to return to their homeland. Still, the country is not yet relaxing its sexuality laws in spite of all these.
Chioma Nnadi, a writer, wrote in Coel’s profile that Ghana has harsh anti-LGBTQ laws plus even harsher policies. Currently, the parliament is fine-tuning a bill that, if passed, would make it illegal to identify as gay, transgender, or an ally to those who are. The crime would attract a possible 5-year prison sentence.
“People say, ‘Oh, it’s fine, it’s just politics.’ But I don’t think it is just politics when it affects how people get to live their daily lives,” Coel added. “That’s why it felt important for me to step in and do that role because I know just by my being Ghanaian, Ghanaians will come.”
Coel, 35, had tried out for a role in the original film “Black Panther” while she was still in drama school, but she failed to make it to the cast. However, her trying was not in vain, for she managed to catch the eye of writer/director Ryan Coogler at the film’s premiere, where she arrived dressed in wax print fabric and mingled comfortably with the film’s cast.
“I think for a lot of people it was the first time we’d seen some sort of representation on a very mainstream platform about the magic of Africa, the magic of the people, our ancestors,” Coel said, referring to “Black Panther.”
Coel joined the cast at a time they were still in grief following the sudden death of Chadwick Boseman in 2020. She says she felt she had a responsibility to dig in and do all it takes to make this sequel impactful.
“There was a sense that we have to bring this baby home in the name of Chadwick,” she added. “I thought to myself, I’m rolling up my sleeves and I’m getting in. I don’t need to be front and center, I’m here to support.”
“In Ghana, I like it when I’m creating things for other people,” she continued. “That’s what I like about making TV.
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