Daniel Kaluuya became a household name after his breakout film, Get Out. He recently revealed on the Graham Norton Show that he did not receive an invite to the premiere of his hit film at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017. The actor disclosed this during an interview on his new film, Judas and the Black Messiah and Black Panther 2.
This comes some four years after Jordan Peele’s critically acclaimed horror film was released, starring Kaluuya in the lead role.
Kaluuya claims that although he was on the set of Black Panther at the time the film was set to be premiered, he cleared his schedule and still did not receive an invitation without any specific reason to date. This is the film which analysts say cemented his career as a leading man.
“They didn’t invite me bro. They didn’t invite me,” Kaluuya said via video call during the Graham Norton Show. Graham, shocked, responded: “No, that can’t be true”, adding that somebody messed up by not inviting Kaluuya.
He further elaborated on the occurrence which sent shockwaves to the other guests in the studio. “On the Sundance world premiere, I was in Atlanta because I was shooting [Black] Panther,” he said. “I was chilling, I cleared my schedule. I was like, ‘I really wanna do it.’ And then just didn’t get the invite. I wasn’t invited, so I was just in my bed – someone text me, ‘It’s done really well.'”
When questioned by the other guests if he had followed up with the team to enquire about being snubbed for a film in which he plays the leading role, Kaluuya said he would rather not ask questions.
“I don’t ask questions. I’m just like, I get it man. That’s cool,” he replied. “You don’t want to be in a place that you don’t feel wanted, you feel me.”
On the sequel to the blockbuster film, Black Panther, he confirmed filming was underway and the script will certainly honor his late co-star, Chadwick Boseman. The Ryan Coogler-directed sequel will “explore the world of Wakanda & the rich characters introduced in the first film.”
In an interview with Deadline, the president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, reiterated that fact and elaborated further on the sequel’s plot and what fans should expect.
“So much of the comics and that first movie is the world of Wakanda,” Feige said. “Wakanda is a place to further explore with characters and different subcultures. This was always and initially the primary focus of the next story.”