Letitia Wright could delay ‘Black Panther 2’ due to “unvaccinated status”

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ reportedly faces more production delays due to star Letitia Wright’s alleged unvaccinated status.

Filming for the sequel to the 2018 Marvel film will go on hiatus from next week until early 2022 after Wright, who plays Shuri, sustained an injury while shooting a sequence involving a stunt rig.

However, there could be further issues for production because Wright has flown back to London from America to recuperate.

Since the 28-year-old returned to the UK, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) implemented rules that require all non-immigrant, non-citizen air travellers to the US to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination before boarding a flight.

Sources have told the Hollywood Reporter that Wright is not vaccinated against COVID-19.

The actress is not a US citizen. She was born in Guyana and grew up in London.

Film sets are increasingly installing their own mandates that require cast and crew in “Zone A” on sets to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Rolling Stone UK has approached Wright’s representative for comment.

A rep for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ confirmed that Wright had returned to London, saying: “Letitia has been recovering in London since September from injuries sustained on the set of Black Panther 2 and is looking forward to returning to work early 2022. Letitia kindly asks that you keep her in your prayers.”

The ‘Black Mirror’ actress came under fire last year when she shared a largely fact-free anti-vaccine video on social media that questioned the safety of the then newly approved Pfizer vaccine.

After being accused of peddling misinformation, Wright said at the time: “My intention was not to hurt anyone, my ONLY intention of posting the video was it raised my concerns with what the vaccine contains and what we are putting in our bodies…Nothing else.”

Following the controversy, Wright deleted her social media account, although she has since returned to Instagram.

She recently denied reports that she has spread anti-vaccine statements on the set of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ in Atlanta, saying: “‘I honestly assert that this was completely untrue. Anyone who knows me or has worked with me, knows that I work incredibly hard at my craft & my main focus is always to do work that’s impactful and inspiring. That has been & will continue to be my only focus.”

It’s believed that the sequel’s director Ryan Coogler filmed scenes not involving Wright’s character Shuri while she recovered from her injuries. Production is aiming to stick to the movie’s November 11, 2022 release date.

Marvel chose to move forward with the sequel and not recast the role of T’Challa following actor Chadwick Boseman’s death from colon cancer in August 2020.

The actor played the titular character in the first ‘Black Panther’ film, which became the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.