Marvel Studios
If you’ve seen Black Panther, then you know that the film features a predominantly Black cast, except for the likes of English actors Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis, who played C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and Ulysses Klaue, respectively.
Freeman and Serkis, both accomplished actors in their own right, are perhaps best known for their contributions to the famed Lord of the Rings franchise, as Freeman starred as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit prequel films, while Serkis did groundbreaking motion-capture work as Gollum in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis were referred to as ‘Tolkien White Guys’ on the set of the original Black Panther film
As a result of their unique Middle-Earth connection and the fact that they were two of the only white dudes on set, Freeman revealed that the rest of the cast used to affectionately refer to the pair as the “Tolkien White Guys”, in reference to legendary Lord of the Rings scribe J.R.R. Tolkien. Simply elite levels of comedy.
While Serkis’ Ulysses Klaue (SPOILER ALERT) was killed off in the original Black Panther, Freeman will return as Agent Everett Ross in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which hits theaters on Friday, November 11.
In addition to Freeman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — the final entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Phase 4” before Phase 5 kicks off with Ant-Man 3 in February — stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, and Angela Bassett.
The film had its premiere on Wednesday, October 26, and according to initial reports from journalists, the film is absolutely a worthy successor to the Oscar-nominated Black Panther and is a touching tribute to the life and legacy of the late Chadwick Boseman.