Kendrick Lamar has outlined plans to appear in the sequel to blockbuster smash Black Panther, as a super-villain.
The rapper played an integral role in the recent release of Black Panther, crafting the box office record-breaker’s soundtrack. The collaboration is both the first time Marvel have featured multiple original recordings created specifically for a film into one of their superhero movies, and the first time Kendrick Lamar has ever soundtracked a film.
Now, he wants to step it up, with an on-screen appearance in the film’s sequel. Speaking to BBC Radio 1Xtra, he outlined that he’d like to play a “loved and misunderstood” role akin to Michael B. Jordan’s polarising Eric Killmonger.
The film – which recently achieved a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes – stars Chadwick Boseman as King T’Challa, the beleagured leader of fictional kingdom Wakanda, alongside Luptia Nyong’o and Michael B Jordan. It hit UK cinemas on February 12, subsequently smashing box office records. NME dubbed the film ‘the best Marvel movie yet’ in our review.
“I am struggling to find the words to express my gratitude at the moment, but I will try,” Director Ryan Coogler wrote in a new letter, shared via Marvel Studios’ Twitter account. Claiming the reaction to the film “still humbles” him, the director went on to state that fans’ wholehearted embrace of his movie “often moved me and my wife to tears”.