Black Panther 2 Trailer Shows Close-Up of Michaela Coel's Aneka

LGBTQ+ fans couldn’t be more excited about Michaela Coel’s queer character, Aneka, entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe with her appearance on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Best known for creating, writing, producing and starring in shows like I May Destroy You and Chewing Gum, Coel is one of the most talented and beloved creatives of our generation. Now, she will become an action movie star in the MCU playing the character of Aneka, who is a part of the Dora Milaje.

In the comics, it is established that Aneka is queer and has a romance with Ayo (played by Florence Kasuma in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). Within the Dora Milaje, Aneka serves as an instructor and is considered one of the strongest members of Wakanda’s all-female special forces team.

Even though the first teaser of Wakanda Forever only had quick single shot of Aneka, the film’s first full trailer showed a bit more of the character. This time around, fans got to see Aneka fighting bad guys and looking fiercer than ever in all of her shots. You can watch the full trailer below.

Marvel and Disney have a track record of erasing LGBTQ+ characters and/or moments in order to please conservative audiences and countries where homosexuality is banned. However, that has been changing slowly over time. Eternals featured the MCU’s first-ever gay superhero, for instance, and the scenes including his husband were kept in the final cut. Pixar’s Lightyear also made it a point not to erase its queer character despite the backlash it received from more conservative moviegoers.

Hopefully, Aneka’s queerness will be highlighted – and not erased! – in this sequel to Black Panther.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens November 11, 2022 in theaters.

RELATED | 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Adds A Gay Icon To Its Cast