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Good News! In Lupita Nyong’o’s New Movie, You Can See Her Actual Face

Two years after breaking out with 12 Years A Slave, Lupita Nyong’o’s biggest roles have come as an elderly space pirate in The Force Awakens and a wolf in the upcoming Jungle Book remake — two motion-capture parts that, when taken alongside the dearth of other offers for the Oscar-winner, indicate that Hollywood doesn’t quite know what to do with a woman like Lupita. Wednesday brings a tiny shred of good news on that front, though: Disney just released the first image from Nyong’o’s next movie, The Queen of Katwe, to confirm that, yes, we will eventually be able to actually see her face in a movie. Nyong’o has a supporting role in the film, playing the mother of the Ugandan chess prodigy (Madina Nalwanga); you’ll have to wait for whenever Americanah comes out to see Lupita as a lead.

Nalwanga and Nyong’o in The Queen of Katwe. Photo: Disney Productions
Your First Look at Lupita Nyong’o’s New Movie