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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever writer-director Ryan Coogler learned how to swim while making the new Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
Coogler recently told Variety that as several members of Wakanda Forever‘s cast had to learn to free dive and trained with free diving instructors and aquatic stunt teams for the movie, he decided he needed to be on the same page.
“A lot of us were raised to have fear of water,” the director, 36, told Variety. “I had to figure out how to swim so I could direct this movie.”
About half of Wakanda Forever‘s scenes take place underwater with the addition of new antagonist Namor (Tenoch Huerta), who rules the secretive deep-sea land of Talokan, according to Variety.
RELATED: Lupita Nyong’o Says Making Wakanda Forever Gave Cast and Crew an Outlet to Grieve Chadwick Boseman
Courtesy Marvel Studios
“It’s a lot of Black and Mesoamerican folks in water in this movie,” Coogler told the outlet, adding in particular that he is “excited for people to see what” Wakanda Forever costars Angela Bassett and Letitia Wright “did in the water” for the new movie.
“I was just impressed by how much stunt work they all did, how everybody showed up ready to go, ready to learn how to free dive,” he added.
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Coogler told Variety that at the start of the shoot, his swimming skills were only enough to know how to “stay alive.” The director said it was a rewarding experience to learn how to free dive and swim more skillfully along with his cast.
“I remember it was a wild feeling, like I can’t believe I’m this deep in water,” he recalled. “Then I started to work on the breath hold and got comfortable.”
Courtesy Marvel Studios Poster for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
The director was not alone in tackling uneasy waters. Cast members Bassett, 64, and Lupita Nyong’o both expressed to Variety that they were not particularly skilled swimmers before the shoot either.
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“You know, Black girls have this history with water and their hair,” Bassett told the outlet. “Some of us can’t swim all that well, because it’s going to mess up that press and curl. It’s a whole thing.”
“Before we started this film, I knew how to swim, but I wasn’t a confident swimmer,” Nyong’o, 39, added. “I didn’t need to swim in public, that’s for sure. That’s a lifelong skill that I now have.”
Both actresses trained to the point where they could both hold their breath underwater for about two minutes, according to Variety, which noted that cast member Mabel Cadena could hold her breath underwater for around six-and-a-half minutes.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in theaters Nov. 11.
