‘Walking Dead’ Star Lands ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Lead

Image from Variety

“The Walking Dead” actress Sonequa Martin-Green has landed the lead role on CBS All Access’ “Star Trek: Discovery.”

Sources confirmed to Variety that the actress will continue as a series regular on the AMC zombie drama while tackling the lead role on CBS’ relaunch of the science-fiction television franchise.

The casting of Martin-Green brings to a close a lengthy search for a lead on “Discovery,” which has struggled with delays since being given a greenlight by CBS last year. Original showrunner Bryan Fuller had at Comic-Con this summer indicated that he wanted to cast a woman of color in the lead role, citing inspiration from Mae Jamison, the first African-American female astronaut and Nichelle Nichols, the lone African-American and lone female cast member on the original “Star Trek” series. In August, speaking at the Television Critics Association press tour, Fuller confirmed that the lead character would be a woman and that she would not hold the rank of captain, as “Star Trek” leads traditionally have.

Fuller exited the showrunner role in October, after CBS was forced to push back the series premiere from February to May, and was replaced by fellow executive producers Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts. The casting search continued to drag on, with CBS Television Studios, which is producing the series, focusing its efforts on casting an African-American or Latino actress.

Martin-Green’s character will hold the rank of lieutenant-commander, though the character’s name is still unknown. The actress has played Sasha Williams on “The Walking Dead” since the show’s third season. 

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/walking-dead-star-lands-star-trek-discovery-lead-1201942648/

Image and text from Variety

Ryan Coogler Had Never Seen 'The Walking Dead' Before Casting Danai Gurira In 'Black Panther'

Image from Comic Book Movie

To the vast majority of us, Danai Gurira is best known for playing Michonne in The Walking Dead. However, one person who didn't know the actress for her work in the hit AMC series was Black Panther director Ryan Coogler. Of course, many assumed that it was her role as Michonne which probably landed her role in the highly anticipated Marvel movie, but it doesn't sound like that was the case. 

"The filmmaker had never watched it," Gurira tells ComicBook.com. "I'm not saying that everyone else that was involved hadn't, but Ryan Coogler had never watched The Walking Dead. He'd watched me in something completely different. It's quite amazing to hear, but these are African women roles. He'd watched me in an independent film, Mother of George. He's never seen The Walking Dead."

The site then asked the actress how Michonne and Okoye compare, and while they're clearly going to be very different characters, it sounds like Gurira's fighting skills will definitely come in handy for Black Panther! "I'm training right now for Black Panther, and, yes, there's a lot of ways that they're extremely different. I'm learning such great, awesome new things. There's a lot of ways that, yes, one helps another. There are things about using combat that help each other. Absolutely. There's a lot of new things to learn and I'm really enjoying. There's so much new. She's a whole 'nother thing. Okoye is a whole 'nother thing."

https://www.comicbookmovie.com/black_panther/ryan-coogler-had-never-seen-the-walking-dead-before-casting-danai-a146726

Image and text from Comic Book Movie

Danai Gurira Talks 'Black Panther' And The Importance Of Films Like It

Image from Entertainment Weekly

While the Marvel Studio film Black Panther doesn’t hit theaters until 2018, Danai Gurira is hailing its importance. The film, directed by Ryan Coogler (Creed) and starring Chadwick Boseman as the titular hero, features Gurira as Okoye, the head of the Black Panther’s personal guard.

Though she’s more widely known as the sword-wielding Michonne on The Walking Dead, Gurira is also well known for bringing stories of African people to the stage and screen. Her first play was In the Continuum, a two-woman play she wrote and performed which told the story of two black women with HIV in Africa and is based on people she met and knew while living in Zimbabwe as a teen in the 80s and 90s. This production was simply the first of many throughout her career and includes her 2016 Tony Award nominated play Eclipsed which told the story of women trying to survive the Second Liberian Civil War.

African stories, especially those of women, are important to her.

ET caught up with the actress to ask her how this passion relates to her turn in a potential blockbuster superhero movie. She feels Black Panther could be a turning point in such films by moving the focus not only away from the traditional superhero figure, but also moving the narrative of the film to Africa, specifically the fictionalized country of Wakanda.

I grew up seeing a lot of superheroes and they didn’t look like me and they certainly weren’t in Africa. I think that it is something great for girls who are like me growing up. Growing up in Africa, we were looking for images we couldn’t always find. I want to see stories coming from the black female perspective…We’re at a far better moment than we were at in the past, but there’s a lot of work to be done.

The character of Wakandan ruler T’Challa, the Black Panther, is considered the first black superhero in mainstream comics making his first appearance more than 50 years ago, in July 1966. The character first appeared in the MCU in this year’s Captain America: Civil War.

Black Panther is scheduled for release in the US on February 16, 2018.

http://mcuexchange.com/danai-gurira-talks-black-panther-and-the-importance-of-films-like-it/


Text from MCU Exchange

The Walking Dead, Danai Gurira, & Chandler Riggs Win Saturn Awards

Photo from Comic Book

MC's goliath The Walking Dead continued to add awards to its collection at the 42nd Saturn Awards that took place on June 22nd.

The series took home the award for Best Horror TV Series, and the show's own Danai Gurira (who plays Michonne) won for Best Supporting Actress On Television. Chandler Riggs, who plays Carl Grimes on the hit show, also took home an award for Best Younger TV Actor (via Scifibulletin).

The full awards list can be viewed here.

http://comicbook.com/2016/06/23/the-walking-dead-danai-gurira-chandler-riggs-win-saturn-awards/

Photo and text from Comic Book

The 18 Types of The Walking Dead Fans

Photo from Pop Sugar

Made me laugh. Also, I think I might be a few of these.


http://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Types-Walking-Dead-Fans-40754119#photo-40754119

Sasha Williams, The Walking Dead

Photo from moviepilot.com

WARNING: SPOILERS


No one portrays the inner pain of the zombie apocalypse with as much soulfulness and ennui as Sasha. She's all pensive looks and periodic bursts of zombie-killing rage. She understandably went off the rails for a bit after the death of her brother and her kind- of sort-of boyfriend Bob. She's recovered as much as someone in her position can at least, but she's still palpably imbued with both profundity and loss. Here's hoping we'll have our favorite emo around for a good while longer.

Favorite moment: Telling Abraham he's got some things to work on before they could get into a relationship. It may be zombie-geddeon, but there's still enough people alive to be choosy.

SPOILERS: Walking Dead Creator Confirms Negan's Victim is 'Very Beloved to Everyone'

Photo from TV Line

WARNING: SPOILERS


Noooooooooo, but really I don't want to see any of these guys go (the possible victims are Rick, Carl, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, Michonne, Abraham, Sasha, Eugene, Rosita, and Aaron btw). Such is the Walking Dead I guess.


Some comments from the Showrunners:

Series creator Robert Kirkman, appearing on after show The Talking Dead, confirmed outright that the dearly departed character is a fan favorite (which should narrow things down a bit). 

Showrunner Scott M. Gimple, meanwhile, had this to say about the cliffhanger: “When we reveal who’s on the receiving end, that’s going to be the start of another story. The kickback effects from that, what it makes everyone into, how they react, how the world changes for everyone — that’s the next part of the story.”

Regarding criticism that the ambiguous ending was just another in a long line of Walking Dead stunts, Gimple responded, “We have to do an episode that justifies [the cliffhanger] to you. We have to do something so great and so intense that you’re like, ‘OK, all right, fair play.’ That’s the challenge that we have, and we’re going to do it. We’re going to deliver you something fantastic.“We want you to be one of those people in that lineup,” he added. “We want you to feel that suspense and that terror and that pain. We’re going to deliver you a story next season that justifies it.”


Check out the rest of the article at TVLine:

http://tvline.com/2016/04/03/the-walking-dead-who-did-negan-kill-finale-season-6/

IMDB also presented some interesting questions about what might happen in season 7:

Walking Dead Burning Questions



Text from TVLine

The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira on Why Rick Is the Only Man for Michonne

Photo from Vulture

Shipper news, just because.


Gurira said she had inklings of the relationship as far back as season three, episode 12, when Michonne goes into a building teeming with zombies to retrieve a family photo for Carl. “It clicked to me,” Gurira said, adding that even the crew picked up on it then. “That’s a man who made her change, and she’s made him change. They can check each other, she can make him laugh, she can disarm him, but she’s also deeply loyal to him and she respects him. And for Michonne to really respect a man is no small thing. I was like, Who else is she gonna? This has got to be the guy, in my brain.”

This season, Gurira pinpoints the moment Michonne’s feelings for Rick became obvious: episode nine, when she saved Carl’s life as Ron was about to shoot him. “It was so clear to me how much she loved him, and his son, so much,” she said. “She’s going to, you know, run through a herd of zombies to get his son to the infirmary, and she’s going to run out into a herd of zombies to keep him from dying. I felt her panicking. I was, like, She never panics. But the idea of losing either one of these men today, she’s just not going to do it.”


Awwwwww. Check out the rest of the article at Vulture:

http://www.vulture.com/2016/03/danai-gurira-michonne-rick-grimes-is-the-only-man-for-her.html



Photo and text from Vulture

Some (fun) Michonne news... AND HUGE SPOILERS

Photo from Variety

I find it a bit funny that all of the entertainment websites posted barely-not-spoiler titled reviews within about 20 minutes after The Walking Dead aired last night. I was prowling the internet last night and ran across it all nearly at once. I haven't seen last nights episode yet, but the gleeful titles would have pretty much told me everything that happened- even if I hadn't ruined it for myself and went ahead and read them anyway. Check out the spoiler-filled articles below if you have seen the episode (or laugh in the face of spoilers like myself).


Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln Weighs In on the 'Amazing, Beautiful, Moving' Twist He Never Saw Coming - so cute

‘The Walking Dead’: Danai Gurira Talks Rick and Michonne’s Surprising Choice -also so cute

Walking Dead: EP Scott M. Gimple Reveals Why He Finally Went There With [Spoiler] and [Spoiler]

‘Walking Dead’ Fans Fall in Love With Latest Twist - "Happy Black History Month Rick." I can't even.

Michonne, The Walking Dead

Photo from the-walking dead wordpress

WARNING: SPOILERS

Michonne is one of the most mysterious and iconic characters on The Walking Dead. On a show that tries to ground itself in reality enough to be believable, she is one of the characters that really ties the show to its comic book roots with her almost superhuman ability to weld a sword. Michonne is a woman who keeps her cards close to her vest. In a group often overwhelmed with emotions both destructive and tragic, she is among the most stoic. In a flashback we learned that she had a husband and a child prior to the plague, so we know that she has clearly experienced a lot of pain. Fierce and capable, but not without compassion she bonds with the children on the show very naturally, hinting to a very able maternal side. She seems just as comfortable being alone as in a group. As a member of a hearty band of survivors she still manages to stand out as the person you'd most want on your team. I have the distinct impression that her group needs her more than she needs them. No romance for Michonne thus far, but then again she has only just thawed out enough to maintain friendships.

Favorite moment: Literally anytime she wields her katana.