Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be the final installment of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It will see the crowning of a new Black Panther after the tragic demise of King T’Challa.
Producer Nate Moore and director Ryan Coogler explain that the film will primarily focus on the female characters in Wakanda.
Chadwick Boseman, who played the original Black Panther, passed away during the development of the film due to colon cancer. The creators decided not to recast for the role of T’Challa to honor the great man.
Instead, the film will start with an empty throne in Wakanda. This will open the door for another character to take on the title of Black Panther. The throne will be up for grabs. It is only a matter of time before we know who will sit on it next.
In a press event attended by Screen Rant, Moore and Coogler talked about the story’s chronology and how it naturally made sense if they focused on the supporting characters after T’Challa’s death.
“It was just the right story to tell. These were the characters who were most affected by T’Challa’s passing, so we focused on the people who were appropriate,” Moore said when asked about the decision to focus on female characters like Shuri, Nakia, Okoye, and Queen Ramonda.
The producer also turned down talks about an agenda at play which perhaps forced them to focus on the female characters. He said that after T’Challa’s death, the focus shifted from him to those around him very organically.
Coogler added that death is always followed by a blast radius. Black Panther 2 will focus on the people affected the most by the demise of their King.
I think sometimes, maybe from the outside, there is a thought that there are agendas at play. But it is just telling good stories, and we are blessed with an amazing cast who breathes life into these characters and makes you want to see what’s happening with Shuri or what’s happening with Okoye or what’s happening with Lupita or what’s happened with Ramonda. To not highlight them would have been a disservice to the story, and so I think the movies are better for it. If we would have had to wedge in some new male characters just to have that voice, that would have seemed more performative than then just telling the story we told.
Moore
The director went on to discuss the effect it had on the characters, especially Shuri.
While drawing the character sketch of Shuri for the sequel, they realized the impact T’Challa’s death must’ve had on her. Shuri was a shadow of her brother ever since she was born. The death of such a figure left her unarmed and vulnerable. It seemed as if she had lost her identity with her brother.
[That’s] the truth of it. Every day Shuri was alive, she had her brother. When she lost him, what we discovered while we were working on the script — and then eventually bringing it to life with it with the actors — was that she really lost her sense of self. She identified herself as this guy’s little sister, and as his protector, and as the person who looks out for him. When she loses that, it makes her very unmoored.
Promotional content and rumors about the upcoming sequel have all but confirmed that Shuri will take on the mantle after her brother’s death.
T’Challa’s legacy will be at stake in the upcoming movie as Wakanda will be attacked by the underwater-dwelling people of Talokan. Okoye, Nakia, and Dora Milaje will be fighting harder than ever to protect Wakanda now that they don’t have the protection of the King.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be a tale of resurrection, sacrifice, and an exploration of human emotions. Life doesn’t stop for anybody. It just ebbs and flows, and loss is just a part of it.
The emotions will be heightened by the fact that the death of the King is not just a fictitious affair. Our beloved Chadwick Boseman is not alive anymore.
Catch the final installment of MCU Phase 4 in theaters on November 11, 2022.
About Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is an upcoming American superhero film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It will serve as the sequel to Black Panther (2018) and will be the 30th film in the MCU. The film is being written and directed by Ryan Coogler.
Wakanda grieves the loss of their King T’Challa as the nation deals with opening up their technology to the world. But apart from the diplomatic agencies’ onslaught, Wakanda must face yet another danger as the king of Talcon, an underwater nation like DC’s Atlantis, Namor, has declared war on Wakanda.
Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett will star in the film, which will premiere on November 11, 2022.
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