Black Panther's Waterfall Scene Put Daniel Kaluuya In The ER With Sunburnt Eyes
Ryan Coogler's 2018 film "Black Panther," arguably the best film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, stands apart from its contemporaries for its creative visuals and its thematic heft. The elaborate Afro-futurism of Wakanda is unique in cinema, and the film's villain, Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), confronts the title hero (Chadwick Boseman) on issues of racial justice that the hero had studiously refused to earnestly ponder. Within the already-complicated, interlocking mythology of the MCU, "Black Panther" introduced its own set of rituals, myths, and traditions that functioned beautifully on their own terms. One couldn't help but be swept up by the details of Coogler's carefully thought-out, impeccably designed fantasy kingdom.
One of the central rituals of Wakanda, fans will recall, is a regal Challenge Ritual which is depicted twice in Coogler's film, once when the Black Panther takes the throne, and later when Killmonger challenges him. While Wakanda is a monarchy that passes power down from parent to child, a potential usurper may also wrest the throne from any sitting royalty by besting them in hand-to-hand combat at the top of a remote waterfall, called Warrior Falls. It's not a fight to the death, mind you, but more like a wrestling match where one combatant can tap out when they need to.
According to the "Black Panther" press kit, the set for Warrior Falls was a massive edifice built just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The set was 36 feet tall, and had a pool six feet off the ground. The set was artificial, the rocks were made of foam rubber, and the plunging cliff below was added via a digital effect, but the water and the sunlight were very much real.
Too real, as it turns out. Actor Daniel Kaluuya, inadvertently staring into reflective water, got sunburnt eyes.
Standing in water for two weeks
Angela Bassett, who plays Queen Ramonda in the "Black Panther" movies, recalled the week-long shoot in a 2018 interview with Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show." Bassett explained that shooting days were long on "Black Panther," often requiring ten straight hours of work day after day in "blazing hot" weather. Additionally, there were artificial lights, making the set — designed by Oscar winner Hannah Beachler — extraordinarily bright. She remembers thinking that two of her co-stars, Kaluuya and Lupita Nyong'o, were having an adverse reaction to the chlorinated water on set. It seems, however, that filming outdoors for two weeks while staring directly into a reflective surface can have a much worse effect than mere over-chlorinated eyes. In her words:
"The third day, I'm looking at Daniel Kaluuya and Lupita, and their eyes are getting really, really red, especially Daniel's. They were bloodshot red. So, the next morning you come to set and you cannot open your eyes. So they're testing pH balance; safety first! But what they didn't think ... our eyes got sunburned. The light was reflecting back up to us. It was awful. I think he had to go to the emergency room. Blood on the pillow. It was just the worst."
Daniel Kaluuya played the character of W'Kabi in the "Black Panther" movies, a plain-spoken rival and playful Devil's advocate who is not shy about confronting T'Challa about his rash decisions. While Winston Duke, who plays M'Baku, and Boseman likely spent the most time in the water, having to fall over, splash, dry off, and do another take of a highly choreographed fight sequence, it seems Nyong'o and Kaluuya received the brunt of the actual danger with the light reflecting so strongly it required medical treatment for Kaluuya.
Bassett pointed out that, after Kaluuya's hospitalization, the entire cast was given permission to wear sunglasses between takes.
The waters of Wakanda
Bassett recalled that whenever the director yelled "Cut!," they would insist everyone immediately put on their shades and even raise umbrellas. "They were really strict about that," she said. Bassett also confessed that she was able to hide her umbrella underneath her costume, as well as any food she wanted for the day, while cameras were rolling. (Watch "Black Panther" again, and ponder where bag lunches may be hidden.) It seems, Bassett said, there wasn't a lot of time for lunch breaks during the sweltering outdoor pool days, so the cast would eat whenever they could. It's amusing to think that Queen Ramonda was squirreling away an apple and some Cheez-Its in the middle of her son's regal ritual.
Wakanda has appeared in three films to date: the two "Black Panther" films, and in a notable sequence in "Avengers: Infinity War," which was being made at the same time. "Infinity War," however, was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, requiring the "Black Panther" creative team to collaborate with the "Infinity War" creative team. In an interview Gizmodo, Coogler talked about the visual consistency between his film and the one being filmed across town. He said:
"So what [the Russos] would do is, they would send their production design team and their VFX team to come spend time with me and our production design and VFX team. And they would ask questions. Even with their writers, as they were writing, they were thinking about, 'What scene does this?' 'What kind of things in the Wakanda that you are building have these things?' 'Where would this kind of thing happen?' So as we were really fleshing out Wakanda, we would tell them all about it so that their ideas could track."
It's safe to say the integration worked, and luckily, no one was sent to the ER for sunburnt eyes during the making of "Infinity War."