Following Chadwick Boseman's tragic passing in August 2020, Black Panther 2 (now titled Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) left many fans, cast, and crew wondering where the story would be headed next and if it would even would continue. Now currently months into filming, star Lupita Nyong'o has promised that the sequel will honor the late Boseman in a special way that will have plenty of people excited.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is slated to release later this year, will come over two years after Boseman's passing due to colon cancer. While many were skeptical whether his iconic role as T'Challa would be recast, as Boseman's own brother shared that the former Marvel star would've wanted his Black Panther role to be recast in order to live on through younger generations, director Ryan Coogler and many of the producers agreed not to go down that route and that they would work around the original script for the highly-anticipated sequel.
With so much uncertainty surrounding the film, Nyong'o, who spoke with People magazine, revealed what is certain is that the Marvel sequel will no doubt honor Boseman in the best way possible. “It’ll be interesting to bring out another one of those films without Chadwick Boseman,” Nyong’o said. “But we are holding him in close light. I think people will be excited about this one.”
It was back in May 2021 that Nyong'o spoke with Yahoo! about how Coogler and the whole team worked tirelessly to rewrite the script for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to be “so respectful of the loss we’ve all experienced as a cast and as a world.” It will be interesting to see just how Boseman will be honored in the film, but with Coogler - a talented director who strives at telling a more emotional story filled with substance rather than just style - returning to helm, the project will no doubt be something very special.
While it's still unclear what much of the story will focus on, it appears that Letitia Wright's Shuri, who played T'Challa's sister in the first film, will have a much more porminent role in the sequel. In addition, Marvel Studios' president Kevin Feige shared that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will focus more on Wakanda's rich history and fans will see Winston Duke's M'Baku, the powerful warrior who is the leader of Wakanda's mountain tribe, the Jabari, getting more time to shine.
With filming now resuming following a hectic past few months filled with set injuries and several COVID-19 cases, fans can expect more details, including a possible first teaser trailer, to surface in the coming months. Other returning cast members include Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross and Angela Bassett as Ramonda. New additions include Michaela Coel in an undisclosed role and Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Iron Heart, a genius inventor who creates a suit that rivals Tony Stark's Iron Man armor. A series for Disney Plus titled Ironheart is in development.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is finally set to arrive in theaters on November 11th, 2022.
Source: People