‘Wakanda Forever’ – the sequel to the first ‘Black Panther’ film – is about to release. Tsunami Costabir gives you a lowdown on everything you would love to know about this iconic franchise.
The cultural impact of ‘Black Panther’ was massive. It portrayed the excellence of the Black community in more ways than one. The protagonist, Chadwick Boseman’s demise at 43 after his battle with colon cancer left the world in shock – but the impact he created with his performance lives on forever.
In Boseman’s remembrance, Ryan Coogler, the film’s director and co-writer, wrote: “I spent the last year preparing, imagining and writing words for him to say that we weren’t destined to see. It leaves me broken knowing that I won’t be able to watch another close-up of him in the monitor again or walk up to him and ask for another take.”
After a long wait, the sequel to the ‘Black Panther’ film is here! ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ marks the 30th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Written by Joe Rober Cole and directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler, the film comes after a major time jump between the in-universe death of T’Challa and the rest of the timeline.
The official plot synopsis is such: “Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba) 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 the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. Introducing Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli.
‘Wakanda Forever’ will be the first ‘Black Panther’ film since Chadwick Boseman’s sudden demise in 2020. The film also marks the debut of Namor, one of the MCU’s oldest characters, bringing Phase 4 to an end. The lead single on the film’s soundtrack, ‘Lift Me Up’, marks Rihanna’s first new music as a solo artist since her 2016 album, ‘Anti’ and has set an emotional tone for the film.
Interestingly, Chadwick Boseman‘s brother, Derrick Boseman, had spoken out against the idea of retiring the character of T’Challa, and suggested 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.” However, during Disney’s Investor Day event in December 2020, Marvel confirmed Boseman would not be replaced with another actor.
The first ‘Black Panther’ movie was a global box office and cultural phenomenon, scoring US$1.35 billion in ticket sales and earning an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, but ‘Wakanda Forever’ is set to be even bigger! The film is releasing on November 11; we’ll see you at the movies!
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The movie ‘Black Panther’ popularized a salute known as ‘Wakanda Forever’ as a gesture of Black excellence worldwide. After the death of Chadwick Boseman, the world stood up to salute and pay homage to the late hero: King of Wakanda.
Lupita Nyong’o at the ‘Wakanda Forever’ red carpet premiere in LA
Boseman’s onscreen sister, Letitia Wright
NBA players Quin Cook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, along with their ex-coach Frank Vogel
Image Credits: Google