Lupita Nyong’o has joked the cast of ‘Black Panther’ needed a "support group" to deal with fan frenzy over the movie.
The 34-year-old actress stars as Nakia in the hotly anticipated Marvel movie – which is set for release on Friday (16.02.18) – and has said that she and her fellow cast mates, including Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, were left overwhelmed by the reception the first trailer received over the summer.
Speaking during a Twitter Q&A with her co-stars, Lupita said: "There was this #BlackPantherSoLit thing that was going on, and the memes and the gifs were so entertaining … All the ‘Coming to America’ references … It’s been so joyous.
"It was a moment where we were just like, ‘Oh my god. We need a support group to handle this!’ You know, the enthusiasm?
"People are obviously showing a possession of this, an ownership. That’s what dreams are made of for filmmakers – that people relate to it in such a personal way. They feel like this is their story. The community spirit has been amazing."
And Chadwick – who stars as T’Challa and his titular alter ego – couldn’t agree more, as he praised the now-viral "Black Panther Challenge", which raised over $400,000 to help host screenings of the movie for children across the United States.
He said: "[It’s an] incredible thing. It inspires us to do the same thing … You can make movies, but I don’t know what this is."
Director Ryan Coogler also shared a powerful message to the young people gearing up to watch ‘Black Panther’, as he hopes it will teach them to "never feel ashamed" of the colour of their skin.
He added: "Specifically for the black children … I hope that they take away that they never, ever, ever have feel ashamed to be African. It’s something to be proud of."
Lupita Nyong’o jokes about Black Panther support group
