<Li> Forest Whitaker as Zuri : An elder statesman in Wakanda and the keeper of the heart - shaped herb . Coogler called Zuri a religious and spiritual figure , referencing the spirituality of Wakanda from the comics , and compared him to Obi - wan Kenobi from the Star Wars series . Zuri is also a `` major tie back '' to T'Chaka for T'Challa . Denzel Whitaker , who is not related to Forest , plays a young Zuri . </Li>
who played young forest whitaker in black panther
Denzel Whitaker