First Look At Lupita Nyong'o In Marvel's Black Panther

Jay Jayson

06/09/2017 11:59 pm EDT

The first Black Panther trailer has clawed its way online, providing us with our first look at Academy Award-winner Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) as Nakia -- though Marvel Comics' fans know her best as Malice.

To maintain a balance of power, the Wakandan Dora Milaje (aka the Adored One and wives-in-training) is chosen from rival tribes. In the case of Nakia, Q'Noma Valley tribal elders selected her to be Milaje.

After spending several years in training, she presented to King T'Challa. And like a lovesick teenager that she was, she instantly fell for him. However, T'Challa told her and the rest of highly-skilled female bodyguards that he viewed them more like daughters than wives-in-training.

Her fellow Dora Milaje were content with their ceremonial role, but Nakia was not. And when T'Challa proposed to American Monica Lynne, Nakia wanted to snuff her out and have T'Challa all to herself. However, Nakia was caught before she could carry out her fiendish plot and banished from Wakanda.

At her lowest point, Erik Killmonger entered her life, solidified her villainous path, and named her Malice. From then on, she sought to kill T'Challa and the Dora Milaje.

You can check out images of her in our gallery below!

After the events of Marvel's Captain America: Civil War, King T'Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from factions within his own country. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must team up with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakanadan special forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.

The film stars Chadwick Boseman (Get on Up), Michael B. Jordan (Creed), Lupita Nyong'o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead), Martin Freeman (Sherlock), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), with Angela Bassett (American Horror Story), with Forest Whitaker (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), and Andy Serkis (Avengers: Age of Ultron).

Additional cast members include Letitia Wright (Urban Hymn), Winston Duke (Modern Family), Florence Kasumba (Emerald City), Sterling K. Brown (The People v. O.J. Simpson) and John Kani (Coriolanus).

Ryan Coogler directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Joe Robert Cole.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is in theaters now. Spider-Man: Homecoming lands on July 7, 2017, followed by Thor: Ragnarok on November 3, 2017. After that Black Panther debuts on February 16, 2018, while Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on May 4, 2018. Ant-Man and the Wasp is slated for July 6, 2018, followed by Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019.

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