INTERVIEW – ‘Wakanda Forever’ Star Divine Love Konadu-Sun on Playing T’Challa’s Son

Beginning today, the start of Black History Month in the U.S., Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is streaming on Disney+ and available on Digital. It will be released on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™ and DVD February 7th, including two beautiful Steelbooks at Best Buy. To celebrate, I had the opportunity to participate in a roundtable interview with the biggest surprise of the film – Divine Love Konadu-Sun, who plays Prince T’Challa, son of T’Challa.

By now, most are aware that following with the real world tragedy of losing Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, director Ryan Coogler and the Wakanda Forever creative team decided to not only focus the sequel story on Shuri (Letitia Wright), but also introduce a brand new character, Toussaint, who is revealed to be T’Challa’s son, Prince T’Challa. Played by newcomer Divine Love Konadu-Sun, in his first major role, the massive reveal was both joyful and heartbreaking. We all felt like Shuri in that moment as she cried and laughed upon being introduced to her nephew.

Konadu-Sun has an infectious smile and a glowing personality that immediately brought much needed joy to the story. Now eight-years-old, Konadu-Sun talked about the exciting experience working on the project and how he was inspired by the first Black Panther film. “It’s definitely very exciting. It was wonderful,” Konadu-Sun said about seeing himself in Wakanda Forever. “It was a dream come true because I’ve been wanting to do it for so long, and also it was amazing because I finally got to see myself on the big screen, and I’ve wanted to do that since I saw Black Panther.”

To audition for the role, Konadu-Sun explained that he had to read many scripts, and that it was challenging at times because the character was different from his own personality. Given Konadu-Sun’s natural charisma on screen, which was also very apparent during the interview, it’s hard to believe that he struggled at any point during the audition. But once he landed the role, Konadu-Sun shared that he celebrated by dancing around the house. “I hugged my parents and I was just dancing a whole bunch,” Konadu-Sun said.

I asked Konadu-Sun how Coogler described his character to him, and he said simply, “that he’s athletic.” Considering the fact that in many ways Konadu-Sun carries Chadwick Boseman’s legacy on screen, I also asked whether he had watched any other Boseman films to prepare for his role, and he said that he watched Captain America: Civil War, which was T’Challa’s first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Additional fun details that Konadu-Sun shared included that he loves watching superhero movies and reading comics, that his favorite superhero is Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, and that he got to keep a part of his chair with his name on it from production.

While speaking with a group of journalists all hanging on his every word must have been intimidating for the young star, Konadu-Sun handled the experience with grace and composure befitting the royal lineage of his character. He is clearly having a great time and enjoying his well deserved moment, and he’s also well aware of the impact that a film like Wakanda Forever can have on audiences. When asked what he thinks the film means to the world, he said poignantly, “that Black people can do great things too.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is available on Digital now and on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™ and DVD February 7th!

Film Synopsis:

Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the mighty Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of the death of their beloved King T’Challa. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) if they are to forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was written by Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole and directed by Ryan Coogler.

Home Entertainment Release (Best Buy SteelBook / Walmart-exclusive edition / Physical release)

1. Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD February 7, including the limited-edition SteelBook® designs only available at Best Buy.
2. The physical release of the film also comes loaded with bonus features including deleted scenes, audio commentary, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film.