Danai Gurira’s Black Panther success could impact The Walking Dead

With the latest Black Panther win at the 2019 SAG Awards, what does the future hold for Danai Gurira and The Walking Dead?

Danai Gurira is living her best life. Not only is she starring in the most in demand show in the world with The Walking Dead but she also has a major role in one of the highest grossing blockbusters of all time with Black Panther, and that’s not to mention her achievements in theater. With her film career on fire with the Marvel movies alone, what does Gurira’s future with The Walking Dead hold?

Black Panther took home two Screen Actors Guild Awards at the 2019 ceremony: Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture and the biggest award of the night, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The movie blew past all expectations at the box office and now it’s breaking records on the awards circuit. It’s the first comic book movie to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture (it received a total of 7 Oscar nominations) and given the momentum from the SAG wins there’s a good chance it could win at the Oscars.

With a sequel to Black Panther already planned, Gurira is in demand more than ever before. Her latest win for Black Panther at the SAG Awards makes her one of the most decorated members of The Walking Dead cast and as such that could play a major role in future contract negotiations with AMC.

After Andrew Lincoln and Lauren Cohan left The Walking Dead the focus shifted to original cast members Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus, as well as Gurira, whose character Michonne plays an integral role in the post-time jump show. Both Reedus and McBride signed new contracts with AMC back in November, and AMC was very eager to sign a new deal with Gurira but as yet haven’t agreed to new terms.

The challenge Gurira faces lies in being a key member of The Walking Dead cast while also playing a big role for a Black Panther sequel. So far she has been able to balance everything  and make it work, but if her Marvel role expands then balancing both roles could be more of a challenge than ever.

With the Academy Awards looming, continued success for Black Panther will only drive up Gurira’s demand, which will no doubt make AMC executives nervous as her contract remains open. With the season 9 story built around Michonne raising RJ and Judith, it would be a major challenge to remove her character from the show.

Keep checking back for more updates as we continue to follow Danai Gurira’s success on the Black Panther awards circuit.