Okoye Is Offered A Chance To Become Queen In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Deleted Scene

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" had a long reign at the box office in late 2022, coming out at number one five weeks in a row before being dethroned by some other blue people who gave the Talokans a run for their money. But the film quieted down once "Avatar: The Way of Water" hit the scene, and it's now on its way to streaming and home video.

Ahead of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" hitting Disney+ in February, IGN has shared an exclusive deleted scene, titled "Daughter of the Border," from the film. Like much of Ryan Coogler's contemplative, emotional follow-up to "Black Panther," it's a quiet scene that still packs a pretty big punch. In it, Dora Milaje warrior Okoye (Danai Gurira) is offered the chance to put her name in the running for queen of Wakanda after Queen Ramonda's (Angela Bassett) death. The scene is short, just 100 seconds long, but it features a character we haven't heard from much before, played by Danny Sapani.

According to the description accompanying the scene, Sapani plays Okoye's uncle, and as the pair take a walk through the Wakandan landscape, he tells her that others have been planning to draw straws for "the honor of being assassinated by Namor next." This isn't the Wakandan way, though, and Okoye's uncle thinks she should participate in the traditional challenge at Warrior Falls. "I want you to step forward on behalf of the Border tribe," he says, and Okoye doesn't seem daunted by the prospect, but she's also thinking about her friend, Shuri (Letitia Wright).

"We cannot allow the whims of a grieving woman to sway the fate of our great nation," Okoye's uncle says, as if Ramonda didn't just lead with grace and power after losing her son. He's getting into some strategic territory here that clearly makes Okoye a bit uncomfortable, even if she is on the outs with the Dora Milaje at the moment -– especially when he tells her to "lay low until the drum beat of war builds." The scene ends unresolved, with Okoye giving her uncle a look of something like shock or disgust as he walks ahead of her.

In the theatrical cut of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," not only is Okoye not made queen, but the leadership of Wakanda gets a bit muddled in the film's third act. There's no immediate ritual at Warrior Falls to replace Ramonda; instead, Shuri takes on the mantle of the Black Panther while Ayo (Florence Kasumba) takes over the Dora Milaje. Okoye's honor is restored, so there's not really a reason for her to plot like this, and it's M'Baku (Winston Duke) who ultimately shows up at Warrior Falls for a smackdown that we don't get to see ... yet.

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" arrives on Disney+ on February 1, 2023, with a home media release set for February 7, 2023.