It’s no secret that black Hollywood is taking over for the 99s and the 2000s. There has been a renaissance on the silver screen and in TV for our tribe. What was once relegated to handful of roles has been transformed into an abundance of opportunities for our people. We’ve come a long way since Hattie McDaniels won the Academy Award for her role in Gone with the Wind. McDaniels, despite being nominated, was not even allowed to sit with her famous co-stars at the Oscars ceremony almost 80 years ago.
Times have certainly changed.
In 2019, black actors have kicked down the doors of Hollywood in a heroic feat to gain prominent roles in the Marvel Universe. I’m sure Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther didn’t hurt, bringing in a whopping 1.347 billion at the box office. WAKANDA FOREVER!
Recently, several new roles have been announced for several black actors in the Marvel family according to Shadow and Act. Tessa Thompson is set to play the first LGBTQ superhero as Valkyrie. Thompson has appeared as Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok, however the character’s sexuality was previously omitted. The multi-talented Mahershala Ali will play Blade, the character that Wesley Snipes played famously in the late 90s. Teyonah Parris has been cast as Monica Rambeau in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will star in WandaVision. Atlanta star Brian Tyree Henry is set to join the cast of Marvel’s The Eternals.
While I’m more of a Meteor Man and Blankman fan myself, I’ll definitely be grabbing some popcorn and Twizzlers to check out these actors in their upcoming films.
