'Black Panther' star Danai Gurira hints that Okoye may get a spinoff series

• Danai Gurira hinted about getting her own "Black Panther" spinoff series in a new interview.
• She was asked about the rumor while appearing on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Danai Gurira hinted that there may be a "Black Panther" spinoff series based on her character, Okoye, in the future.

According to a piece in The Hollywood Reporter in 2021, Gurira's lawyer had brokered a deal for the "Walking Dead" actor to appear in a spinoff series as the Wakandan warrior for Disney+. However, there has been no official announcement since then.

During her appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Thursday, Gurira teased: "I have been told that I can gently allude to this possibility so I am gently alluding. Just gently."

Earlier in the interview, Gurira said she was initially surprised by Okoye's journey in the latest Marvel movie, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."

In the film, the Wakandan princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) is captured by an enemy while under Okoye's watch and Okoye is stripped of her rank as general of the elite warrior unit, the Dora Milaje, and kicked out of the army.

Gurira said of Okoye's journey: "Trust me, when I first heard the script [and] when Ryan [Coogler, the director] sat me down and told me what happens, that I'm fired and all the rest, I was like, 'Woah, woah, woah. Let's discuss this.' But then I realized how powerful it would be to actually allow a character like her to go through failing and complications that cause her to not be able to just stand strong and hold everything together."

She added: "She has to go through her brokenness too."

The Okoye actor said that after the film came out, Black women told her personally that they "appreciated seeing her vulnerability" and her grief because it deviated from the "strong Black woman" trope in film.

Often, Black women in media are depicted as fearless caretakers of other characters and are not given the space to share their emotions. "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" differs from this by showing the grieving process of the lead characters, most of whom are Black women.

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is available to stream on Disney+ on February 1.