Anticipation is rising as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s release date approaches. The film will hit theaters on November 11, 2022, and will serve as the long-awaited sequel to the 2018 film Black Panther. Sadly, the road to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever wasn’t what the cast, crew, and fans had initially envisioned. Black Panther marked Chadwick Boseman’s first solo film in the role of King T’Challa. No one could have embodied T’Challa better than Boseman, who considered it the role of a lifetime.
His performance in Black Panther, along with its poignant storytelling and representation, won the film critical acclaim. It is the only Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Viewers simply fell in love with T’Challa, with the empathy-inducing anti-hero Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), and with the tale of a country with a new leader struggling to find its path. Unsurprisingly, director Ryan Coogler began working on a sequel to the film almost immediately. However, the initial plans would never be fulfilled as Boseman sadly passed away in 2020 after a quiet battle with colon cancer.
Going forward with the film after Boseman’s death seemed impossible for a while. However, Coogler reworked the sequel into a story that honored the legacy of Boseman. While the cast initially was tentative about the film, they have spoken out to confirm that it does respect and honor Boseman’s legacy beautifully. Marvel chose not to recast T’Challa nor digitally recreate Boseman’s likeness out of respect for the actor. These factors have made viewers even more curious about what Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is about.
What is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever about?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will tell the story of Wakanda, a country that struggles to find its way after losing its King. The official synopsis for the film reads:
Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Leticia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) to forge a new path for their beloved kingdom.
While this is the underlying plot, the synopsis doesn’t reveal the many anticipated secrets and surprises in the film. The trailer has revealed that Wakanda is under attack from an ancient civilization of underwater-dwelling people, the Talokan. The people are led by the fierce Namor (Tenoch Huerta) a half-Atlantean mutant who will do anything to protect his people. This threat means that the people of Wakanda will have to step up and fight despite their grief.
However, not all hope is lost, as the trailers have confirmed that someone else will step up to take on the mantle of the Black Panther. Hence, Wakanda will receive a new hero in its time of need, though none will ever replace T’Challa. It may receive more than one hero, too, as the film will introduce Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams (a.k.a. Ironheart). The young genius is recruited by Okoye and Shuri and taken to Wakanda, likely to receive guidance from Shuri and fine-tune her iron suit.
(featured image: Disney)
