Is Storm In Black Panther 2? Who Michaela Coel Could Be Playing
Michaela Coel is joining the cast of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - and it's entirely possible she's playing the X-Men's weather goddess Storm. The Black Panther sequel began production at the end of June 2021, and little by little casting details are beginning to emerge. Reports have consistently suggested the film will see Wakanda go to war with the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, with Black Panther 2 finally introducing the MCU's version of Namor the Sub-Mariner.
But the latest casting news is particularly exciting. Marvel has cast Michaela Coel, best known for starring in I May Destroy You, in an unspecified role. Coel is a remarkably talented writer, director, showrunner, and actor, known for her inventive physical performances, which make her ideal for a major part in the MCU. This is Black Panther 2, which means she could conceivably be a member of the Dora Milaje or the War Dogs, but she feels like too major a casting call for such comparatively minor figures.
One striking possibility is that Michaela Coel is playing one of the MCU's first mutants, Storm, a major ally of Wakanda in the comics, where she even married King T'Challa. She's become as much a part of Wakanda as the line of Black Panthers themselves, playing a key role in Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther run, which served as a major inspiration for Ryan Coogler's first movie. Although she's technically an Omega level mutant, whose X-gene grants her unlimited potential, Coates has explored Storm as an African goddess as much as a mutant. Black Panther #172, for example, saw T'Challa tell Storm her powers were "a gift of godhead, passed down from your ancestors." Storm claimed the faith of the Wakandan people to amplify her powers, defeating an enemy who had previously challenged the entire X-Men.
The question, of course, is what approach Marvel would take to recreating Storm for the MCU. Marvel doesn't seem to be in a massive hurry to introduce mutants, so they may well avoid explicitly calling Storm a mutant. But her complicated origin means there's potential to blur the lines given the Multiverse has been established as a major part of the MCU's Phase 4. In the comics, Storm's family line has been blessed by Oshtur, a kind and noble Elder Goddess who Storm honors as her "Bright Lady," and whose son, Agamotto, became the first Sorcerer Supreme. The Elder Gods are powerful Multiversal beings, and there have already been rumors some of them will appear in Phase 4, with Shuma-Gorath reportedly the villain of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Thus Storm could be woven into the MCU quite easily, without Marvel even needing to call her a mutant until they were ready to do so.
But how would Storm fit into Black Panther 2? She couldn't occupy her traditional role as T'Challa's lover, simply because of Chadwick Boseman's tragic passing and Marvel's intention not to recast King T'Challa. But Marvel's recent Shuri novel by Nic Stone may offer a hint. It was set in a universe similar to the mainstream Marvel Comics universe but not identical, and Stone reinvented Storm as the Queen of Kenya and a notable ally of Wakanda. The MCU could take the same approach, with Wakanda's allies drawn into their conflict with Atlantis in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.