Danai Gurira has built a distinctive career across film, television, and theater, becoming especially well known for performances that combine strength, intelligence, and emotional depth. Her screen career began with the acclaimed 2007 drama The Visitor, where she played Zainab alongside Richard Jenkins and Haaz Sleiman. She subsequently appeared in independent dramas, comedies, and horror films before taking on larger roles in projects such as Mother of George and All Eyez on Me. Gurira’s international profile expanded dramatically when she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Okoye, the formidable leader of Wakanda’s Dora Milaje. Her Marvel appearances in Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever became the most commercially prominent part of her movie career.
This guide to Danai Gurira movies by year covers her officially released feature films in chronological order, including smaller supporting performances and her animated voice role. Unreleased and upcoming projects are excluded so the list focuses only on movies audiences have actually been able to see.
2007 — The Visitor
The Visitor marked Danai Gurira’s feature-film debut in 2007. Directed by Tom McCarthy, the thoughtful drama stars Richard Jenkins as Walter Vale, a lonely college professor whose life changes after he discovers an immigrant couple living in his New York apartment. Gurira plays Zainab, the Senegalese partner of Tarek, played by Haaz Sleiman, and her character becomes an important part of Walter’s unexpected emotional transformation. The film was praised for its intimate story about immigration, friendship, identity, and human connection, and it established Gurira as a promising screen performer.
2008 — Ghost Town
In 2008, Gurira appeared in Ghost Town, a fantasy comedy directed by David Koepp and led by Ricky Gervais, Téa Leoni, and Greg Kinnear. Gurira had a small supporting appearance as one of the ghosts encountered by Gervais’s character, a dentist who unexpectedly gains the ability to see and communicate with dead people. The film blends supernatural elements with romantic comedy as the reluctant medium becomes involved in the unfinished business of the dead. Although Gurira’s role is brief, Ghost Town is part of her early feature-film work and demonstrates the range of genres she explored before becoming internationally famous.
2010 — 3 Backyards
3 Backyards is an independent drama directed and written by Eric Mendelsohn, focusing on three residents of a suburban community during an apparently ordinary autumn day. Gurira appears in the small role of the Woman in Blue Dress, making this a minor supporting appearance rather than a leading performance. The ensemble includes Edie Falco, Elias Koteas, Embeth Davidtz, and Rachel Resheff, with the film examining loneliness, relationships, and the unexpected connections between people living in the same community. The movie premiered on the festival circuit before its later theatrical release, and Gurira’s performance is listed among the film’s credited roles.
2010 — My Soul to Take
Gurira moved into the horror genre with Wes Craven’s My Soul to Take in 2010. She plays Jeanne-Baptiste in the supernatural slasher, which follows a group of teenagers connected to a serial killer whose death has left a mysterious legacy. Written and directed by Craven, the movie stars Max Thieriot, Denzel Whitaker, Raul Esparza, and Shareeka Epps. The film was notable as one of Craven’s later original horror projects and gave Gurira an opportunity to appear in a very different genre from the grounded dramas that had characterized her earliest movie work.
2011 — Restless City
Restless City is an independent drama directed by Andrew Dosunmu, with Gurira playing Sisi. The film centers on Djibril, a young Senegalese immigrant trying to build a life in Harlem while working through isolation, financial pressures, and complicated relationships. Gurira’s role is part of the film’s intimate portrait of immigrant life and its exploration of people searching for connection in New York City. Although the movie is officially a 2011 film and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that year, it received a limited U.S. theatrical release in 2012.
2013 — Mother of George
Mother of George became one of the most significant early films in Danai Gurira movies by year, giving her a central dramatic role. Directed by Andrew Dosunmu, the 2013 drama stars Gurira as Adenike Balogun, a Nigerian woman living in Brooklyn with her husband Ayodele, played by Isaach de Bankolé. The couple’s struggle to have a child places Adenike under intense family and cultural pressure, forcing her to confront difficult choices involving marriage, tradition, and identity. The film premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance, where cinematographer Bradford Young won the festival’s U.S. Dramatic Cinematography Award, while Gurira received strong critical attention for her performance.
2014 — Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast
Gurira took on a voice role in the animated fantasy adventure Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast. Directed by Steve Loter, the Disney film follows fairy Fawn, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, as she develops a friendship with a mysterious creature known as the NeverBeast. Gurira voices Fury in the U.S. version of the movie, joining a cast that includes Mae Whitman, Rosario Dawson, Lucy Liu, Pamela Adlon, and Anjelica Huston. The film was released internationally in 2014, while its U.S. release took place in 2015, so it is commonly listed by its 2014 production and international release year; Gurira’s contribution is specifically a voice performance rather than a live-action role.
2017 — All Eyez on Me
In 2017, Gurira played Afeni Shakur, the mother of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur, in the biographical drama All Eyez on Me. Directed by Benny Boom, the film stars Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Tupac and follows his rise from his early years through his emergence as one of hip-hop’s most influential and controversial artists. Gurira’s portrayal of Afeni gives the movie an important perspective on Tupac’s upbringing, political influences, family relationships, and development as an artist. The role was particularly notable because it placed Gurira in a real-life historical character rather than the fictional roles that had dominated much of her earlier screen work.
2018 — Black Panther
Black Panther transformed Gurira’s movie career by introducing her as Okoye, the fiercely loyal leader of Wakanda’s Dora Milaje. Directed by Ryan Coogler, the Marvel superhero film stars Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa and features Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, and Martin Freeman. As Okoye, Gurira combines combat ability with a strong sense of duty to Wakanda, becoming one of the film’s most memorable supporting characters. The movie became a landmark superhero production and won three Academy Awards, while also establishing Okoye as a major character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
2018 — Avengers: Infinity War
Gurira reprised her role as Okoye later in 2018 for Avengers: Infinity War. Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo, the superhero epic brings together characters from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the Avengers and their allies attempt to stop Thanos from using the Infinity Stones to reshape the universe. Okoye fights alongside T’Challa and other Wakandan forces during the movie’s climactic battle, giving Gurira a significant part in one of Marvel’s largest ensemble productions. The film’s enormous scale and interconnected storyline made it an important step in expanding Okoye beyond the world established in Black Panther.
2019 — Avengers: Endgame
In 2019, Gurira returned as Okoye in Avengers: Endgame, the direct continuation of the events of Infinity War. Anthony and Joe Russo directed the film, which follows the surviving Avengers as they attempt to reverse the catastrophic consequences of Thanos’s actions. Gurira is part of the ensemble cast alongside Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chadwick Boseman, and many other Marvel stars. Endgame concluded the first major saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and became one of the most commercially successful films in cinema history, making Gurira’s recurring Okoye role part of a defining period in blockbuster filmmaking.
2022 — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever marked Gurira’s most recent released feature film appearance. Directed by Ryan Coogler, the 2022 sequel follows Wakanda as its people cope with the death of King T’Challa while facing new threats from international powers and the underwater kingdom of Talokan. Gurira returns as Okoye, working alongside Shuri, Queen Ramonda, M’Baku, and the Dora Milaje as Wakanda confronts a new chapter in its history. The film was released on November 11, 2022, and continued Gurira’s prominent place in the Marvel franchise while giving Okoye a more emotionally complex role.
Danai Gurira’s Movie Career
Danai Gurira’s film career has developed through several distinct stages, beginning with intimate independent dramas such as The Visitor, Restless City, and Mother of George. Her early work showed an ability to handle serious stories centered on immigration, family, culture, and identity, while roles in Ghost Town and My Soul to Take allowed her to explore comedy and horror as well. Her portrayal of Afeni Shakur in All Eyez on Me further demonstrated her ability to play a recognizable real-life figure before she entered the global blockbuster arena as Okoye.
The Marvel films ultimately became the largest part of her movie résumé, with Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever establishing Okoye as one of the franchise’s prominent supporting heroes. Across her released feature films, Gurira has moved comfortably between independent drama, horror, animation, biographical storytelling, and superhero cinema. That variety is what makes Danai Gurira movies by year a particularly interesting filmography to follow, from her understated debut in The Visitor to her commanding presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
