"I had to figure out how to swim to direct this movie"– Wakanda Forever director, Ryan Coogler reveals

Ryan Coogler, the writer and director of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, picked up swimming during the production of the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

In a recent interview with Variety, director Ryan Coogler explained that he made the decision to have everyone on the same page because some Wakanda Forever cast members had to learn to free dive and train with instructors and aquatic stunt teams for the film.

"A lot of us were raised to have fear of water," the director, 36, told Variety. "I had to figure out how to swim so I could direct this movie."

With the inclusion of new nemesis Namor (Tenoch Huerta), who commands the covert deep-sea land of Talokan, about half of Wakanda Forever's scenes take place underwater, according to Variety.

"It's a lot of Black and Mesoamerican folks in water in this movie," Coogler told the outlet, adding in particular that he is "excited for people to see what" Wakanda Forever costars Angela Bassett and Letitia Wright "did in the water" for the new movie.

"I was just impressed by how much stunt work they all did, how everybody showed up ready to go, ready to learn how to free dive," he added.

According to Coogler, at the beginning of the film, his swimming abilities were just adequate for "staying alive." Along with his cast, the director stated it was a fulfilling experience to improve their free diving and swimming abilities.

"I remember it was a wild feeling, like I can't believe I'm this deep in water," he recalled. "Then I started to work on the breath hold and got comfortable."

The director wasn't the only one navigating murky seas. Both actors Lupita Nyong'o and Bassett, 64, admitted to Variety that they weren't particularly good swimmers before the shoot.

"You know, Black girls have this history with water and their hair," Bassett told the outlet. "Some of us can't swim all that well, because it's going to mess up that press and curl. It's a whole thing."

"Before we started this film, I knew how to swim, but I wasn't a confident swimmer," Nyong'o, 39, added. "I didn't need to swim in public, that's for sure. That's a lifelong skill that I now have."

Variety reported that Mabel Cadena, another cast member, could hold her breath underwater for roughly six and a half minutes, and that both actresses trained to the point where they could each hold their breath for about two minutes.

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