Black Panther: Wakanda Forever originally included a queer kiss
Marvel and Disney are not the first thing people think of when you ask for authentic LGBTQ+ representation, so it shouldn’t be a surprise for anyone to find out that in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever a queer kiss between two characters was cut from release.
The shared kiss was supposed to take place between Aneka (Michaela Coel) and Ayo (Florence Kasumba), two warriors who fall in love during the events of the Black Panther comics written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay.
Not only is their inclusion in the sequel to Black Panther minimal, a script of the film posted by Deadline last Friday confirms that the relationship between Aneka and Ayo we got in the film was severely reduced. While Aneka does kiss Ayo on the forehead, a loving tender moment, the script confirms that originally there was a more passionate kiss included.
The script, described below, goes like this:
Aneka gives her a kiss on the cheek, Ayo kisses Aneka on the lips.
AYO (CONT’D)
Are we good?
ANEKA
We are.
A cut queer kiss from Black Panther isn’t the first time that Disney has promised queer representation only to deliver the bare minimum. It has become a running joke among the LGBTQ+ community that Disney prides itself on having more than a handful of “first out gay character” in its multiple series of films and television shows. Whether these characters be a side-kick like La Fou in Beauty and the Beast, or two unnamed extras in Star Wars, none of them have really ‘hit’ the way Disney has wanted.
Even so, it’s a shame that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cut such a passionate scene – especially because Coel expressed her excitement for the part of Aneka because it allowed her to play a queer character.
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