MCU films are always likely to include a surprise or two – and that’s certainly the case in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which has just arrived in UK cinemas.
The film sees Martin Freeman reprise his supporting role as Everett K Ross, and in addition to delving a little more into the character’s personal life, we also see him share some scenes with an actor who had not previously been announced as part of the film’s cast.
Warning: Spoilers are coming.
That actor is Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who reprises her role as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine from The Falcon and the Winter Solider – and Freeman has described working with the legendary Seinfeld and Veep star as a “delight”.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Freeman explained: “It was a surprise, it was a delightful surprise, because I think this person is bordering on genius. I’ve always thought that about this actor – and yeah, working with them was a delight. It was as much of a delight as I hoped it would be.
“Just delightful and really brilliant, brilliant at the job,” he added. “You know, that’s what you want. If you got the combination of a delightful person and an excellent technician, which they are… yeah, it was delightful.”
Asked if there was much chance to improvise and play around with their scenes – given that both of them have backgrounds in comedy – he responded: “There was a little bit, yeah, there was a little bit of room. I wasn’t doing loads, my scene partner wasn’t doing it loads either.
“The scenes were… they weren’t all lighter, but they had some scope for levity, I suppose. Which is why they were cast, I guess, because this person is brilliant. I mean, a brilliant actor anyway, but knows comedy very, very well, and is very adept at handling stuff that could be light, and turning on a dime, and then making it serious.
“I didn’t do much with my previous comrades from the first film. I only had little bits with them, really. So the main bit was with this new scene partner, who was… yeah, couldn’t have been nicer.”
Speaking more generally about exploring Everett’s life in the new film, Freeman said: “I always like seeing behind the curtain a little bit and you do get to see a little bit behind the curtain of Everett’s life in a way that he probably wouldn’t want you to!
“I don’t think he would want the audience to see his domestic life, probably, because he is so all about the work and the mission and all of that. It’s quite fun when you see people like that in their jim-jams.”
Additional reporting by David Craig.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage, and visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide for more to watch.
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