Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Winston Duke recently explained how surviving Thanos' snap changed M'Baku. The actor first joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the popular smash hit Black Panther as M'Baku, the leader of the Jabari clan. Although, at first, M'Baku challenged King T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) as leader of the nation of Wakanda in ritualistic combat, he later allied himself with the Black Panther to stop Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) from waging war across the world.
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Duke later reprised his role in Avengers: Infinity War, where he led his mountain tribe in the battle against Thanos. However, Thanos' efforts to rid the universe of half its life proved successful, and M'Baku had to witness many of his fellow citizens vanish into thin air. At the same time, he survived for the next five years in a period referred to as The Blip. M'Baku will return to the big screen in Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which sees Wakanda reeling from the loss of their King T'Challa and threatened by outside forces, including Namor (Tenoch Huerta).
Comicbook.com caught up with Duke at Disney's D23 Expo, where he discussed M'Baku's role in the highly-anticipated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The actor explained that the Jabari leader was forced to change during the Blip. In the upcoming sequel, Duke admitted that M'Baku would be more open than previously seen as he has joined the royal Tribal Council. Read what the actor said below.
"I think M'Baku is forced to catch up with the times. His role has changed. He survived The Snap, he is now a part of the Tribal Council so he's more forward-facing and less insular. So he's been forced to really be a part of the collective transparency. I think that's a really cool thing for him and you get to see a whole new dynamic including him."
At the start of the first Black Panther movie, M'Baku is the reclusive Jabari mountain clan leader, combative with the royal family and only interacting with T'Challa to challenge him for the throne. However, his loyalty to tradition and Wakanda allowed him to ally with T'Challa to defeat Killmonger. That loyalty likely called him out of isolation when Wakanda was in need, stepping up to the Tribal Council to help keep his nation together after such a tragic loss.
M'Baku in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will not be the same as previously portrayed. Although he may still harbor his hard edge and aggressive demeanor, his experience during The Blip will likely have stripped away much of his desires. He now only wishes to fight for the country's greater good to protect Wakanda from Namor and others who threaten to destroy his homeland. Audiences will not have to wait much longer to see how M'Baku's character has evolved when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever lands in theaters on November 11.