In this interview Letitia Wright discusses her new film Aisha, as well as assures Marvel fans that Shuri will be back in the MCU.
Aisha follows a young Nigerian woman (Letitia Wright) who is caught in limbo for years in Ireland’s immigration system. She develops a friendship with an employee (Josh O’Connor) who she meets at one of the accommodation centres. This is a raw, real, and emotional story that does not shy away from the reality of the immigration system.
Letitia Wright Talks Aisha
What Made You Want To Be A Part Of Aisha?
Letitia Wright: I loved the story. I’m always chasing great stories, something that makes people want to sit down and give that time to it. I love the character, I loved the opportunity that presented itself for me to play someone that’s a little bit more. Everything’s quite stripped back and subtle and I wanted to tap into that. It just ticked all the boxes for what I love. And I stepped up to the challenge to grow.
What Is Your Process Like Getting Into Character?
Letitia Wright: It varies as each role has his own process. With this in particular, I focused on the spirit, I tapped in with my director, I did a lot of research. I spoke to several people who had gone through to the provision system. So I gained a lot of information. And then I just allowed that to just sit with me for the pre-production months. On set, I just trusted what was inside of my heart to flow through my character. It’s all a thing of trust, isn’t it? So thankfully, it was there. And thankfully, it was felt.
What Was The Most Challenging Scene For You?
Letitia Wright: Yeah, trying not to spoil it for our audience that have not seen the film yet. There’s a moment where she’s on the edge, and she’s giving up, and she’s about to do something not great. That scene was very tough to find the truth in that and not to be overly dramatic, I had to even strip it back even more. I was talking to my director and be like, I feel like this moment, the way we’re doing the actions of it, it feels a bit dramatic. It feels a bit over the top, and we need to strip it back. And that was quite tough for me to find that. But when we did, it was an aha moment for us. And then obviously, carrying the emotions of this character. I need a comedy next, man.
Do Characters Often Stick With You After Filming?
It depends on my aftercare. If I take care of myself, do therapy. If I journal and do my ritual of releasing the character, it’s all good. But if I keep that character with me, it’s kind of tough. Some characters stay with me for a little while, then I have to just tell them to go away.
Letitia Wright On Aisha & Conor’s Relationship
Aisha and Conor’s Relationship Is Subtle. It Isn’t Love At First Sight. Can You Talk About That?
Letitia Wright: I feel like that’s what I wanted from it. Those are my notes for Frank. Not that he wrote it in that way, but I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t coming across like that on screen. He would pass me in the morning and like, don’t look, don’t double back. Don’t look. Don’t send the audience Oh, something is going to happen over there. Just be normal. I think it was one of those moments where I tried to make it real. They’re not really gonna feel each other from the beginning. But they keep just bumping into each other. And it’s a weird thing that keeps happening, like fate is manifesting itself. And then also, I love the purity about their relationship. One of my favorite moments is where she just says to him, I just want to lay down. Like, we ain’t doing nothing. And it was so beautiful. It’s one of my favorite scenes to shoot in my cinematic experience. It’s just pure, and we don’t really see that a lot these days. I love that about them.
What Is Josh O’Connor Like?
Letitia Wright: He is a great guy. I like him. He’s not only talented, but he’s also very giving. Very respectful. I like Josh. I really want to work with Josh again.
A Hard to Swallow Ending
What Was Your Reaction When You First Read The Ending?
Letitia Wright: Not surprised. That’s what happens. They make you come and share your story, share your life. And you give them the full breakdown. And then they tell you no. You’re at the mercy of someone else, and it’s tough. I like that we took that route too. Because we could give you a super happy ending and that’s not the reality of people’s stories. Most of the time, there is a fight, that is a yearly fight, of proving yourself and proving that you just want to have safety and you just want to live a better life for yourself. You want to just take the opportunities and make the most of it, but you’re in limbo. So how can you do that? So I wasn’t surprised. And I didn’t feel like it needed to be changed.
Shuri Will Be Back
When closing out the interview, I mentioned how excited my family and I are to see Shuri return, to which Letitita Wright respodnds, “she will be back.” Marvel fans will be over the moon to hear this news, as Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever can surely not be the end of Shuri. She has too much ahead of her, and is too much of an important character, to not continue in the MCU.
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About Aisha
Aisha (Letitia Wright), a young Nigerian woman seeking asylum in Ireland, is floundering in a maze of social services and bureaucracy. Alone and unwilling to sacrifice her dignity to satisfy the demands of the authorities, she finds an ally in Conor (Josh O’Connor), an employee at her residence home, a local young man with a troubled past of his own.
Together they struggle to maintain their tender friendship in the face of Aisha’s increasingly dire predicament and her rapidly diminishing options.
Aisha comes to select U.S. theaters on May 10th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. She is also a Freelance Writer. Tessa has been in the Entertainment writing business for ten years and is a member of several Critics Associations including the Critics Choice Association and the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association.