Tenoch Huerta, who plays the ruler of an underwater kingdom, didn't know how to swim. When Ryan Coogler offered him the role and asked about his swimming skills, Huerta simply replied, "I've never drowned before." He took swimming lessons afterwards in preparation for the role.
The Marvel Studios intro shows footage of exclusively Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa to pay tribute to him. This is an updated version of the logo that was added to start of the original Black Panther (2018) for the streaming version on Disney+ shortly after his passing. This new version is the first MCU intro without any music.
Lupita Nyong'o, who is Kenyan-Mexican, was enthusiastic to show off her Spanish speaking skills in the film.
Chadwick Boseman's brother, Derrick Boseman, has spoken out against the idea of retiring the character of T'Challa rather than recasting. He believes that his brother wouldn't have been so egotistical as to want the character to die with him and would instead want the character's journey to continue.
(at around 35 mins) The exterior sequence on the M.I.T. campus was actually filmed on the M.I.T. campus. It's apparently a rarity for them to grant permission, but Ryan Coogler was persistent. The dorm room is a set.