Interview: Ruth E. Carter delves into the looks of 'Black Panther" Wakanda Forever'

There is more than one queen that reigns over Wakanda. That queen is costume designer Ruth Carter, a 4-time Academy Award nominee (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Black Panther, Amistad and Malcolm X), and winner for 2018’s Black Panther. She is also an Emmy nominee for Roots, a 3-time Costume Designers Guild Award winner (Coming 2 America, Black Panther, Career Achievement Award), a 3-time Critics’ Choice Award winner (Black Panther, Dolemite Is My Name, Black Panther: Wakenda Forever), and so much more. 

Carter is responsible for the iconic outfits that Marvel favorites like Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) wear. She was also tasked with creating the outfits for the newly-introduced world of Talokan, like Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Namora (Mabel Cadena). Carter continues to raise the bar higher and higher, not only for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but for any individual in the profession. In result, Carter was honored with her fourth individual Academy Award nomination for the film, where the film itself garnered five nominations (Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Song, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects).

When asked about The Hollywood Reporter article that was penned by The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood around omissions of Black women for Academy Award nominations, Carter responded, “It’s not myopic representation. It’s global and I find representation in Bardo. I find representation in Everything Everywhere All At Once. I find representation in Pinocchio. I find representation in Camille Friend, in Angela Bassett, in myself, in Ludwig Göransson. There is a lack of representation of black voices and black images, and for that, I feel sad. Women directors, for that, I feel very sad. I do hail the efforts of those who have films that do speak to the Black community and such. I cannot turn my back on that type of representation as well this year.” 

We will find out the winners of the Academy Awards on Sunday, March 12.  

What’s next for Ms. Carter? She will continue to stay in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by designing for the reboot of Blade. While tight lipped, she did reveal that, “Mahershala [Ali] has been training for weeks… months. I think we are going to see another Mahershala that I haven’t seen yet because he is dedicated.” Blade will be directed by Yann Demange and will be released on September 6, 2024. 
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe winner Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Michaela Coel, Martin Freeman, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The film is currently streaming in the Academy screening room and on Disney+.