Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Hair Interview
The Symbolism Behind the Hairstyles in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"
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In the "Black Panther" franchise there is a handful of different tribes, which results in an ensemble cast of over 100 people. "When we get past 99, I stop counting," Friend says. In the second movie, we're introduced to the Talokan people. Their look was inspired by the Mayan culture and their Mesoamerican roots.
Though in the past, Friend has used these groups of ancient people as jumping-off points for inspiration, she wanted to keep the hair for the Talokan tribe as historically accurate as possible. "We really wanted to protect what the Mayan culture is about, especially [because] this culture hasn't been seen in a lot of movies," she says. "To have this opportunity, I just wanted to be culturally appropriate and keep it in those styles."