Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. News

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast teases the sequel’s scope

Blair Marnell
By

The original Black Panther movie became a cultural phenomenon in 2018, thanks in large part to Chadwick Boseman‘s unforgettable performance as the title character. Boseman’s death in 2020 caught everyone unprepared, and left his family, friends, fans, and colleagues to mourn him. That’s one of the key reasons why the upcoming sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, will not recast T’Challa. Instead, as the cast and director Ryan Coogler explain in the video below, it will serve as a tribute to Boseman and his signature character.

Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Return to Wakanda

While the characters mourn for T’Challa, his demise puts the nation of Wakanda itself in the crosshairs of another powerful kingdom. Tenoch Huerta is making his MCU debut in the film as Namor, the Sub-Mariner, the king of the underwater kingdom known as Talokan. As alluded to by Coogler in the video, Namor is one of Marvel’s oldest characters — he even predates the first appearance of DC’s Aquaman by two years. Namor is also a unique foe in that he isn’t evil. However, he will destroy Wakanda if he believes that the country is a threat to his.

Letitia Wright in a featurette for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

To save Wakanda, a new Black Panther must rise. While the trailers have yet to identify the woman in the Black Panther costume, there is a precedent for Letitia Wright’s Shuri to assume the mantle after her brother. Regardless, Marvel has seemingly gone out of its way to keep that info under wraps. And there is no shortage of potential candidates for the new Black Panther among the film’s female cast.

Related

If it’s not Shuri under the mask, then our money is on either Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia or Danai Gurira’s Okoye. Angela Bassett also has a much larger role in the movie as T’Challa and Shuri’s mother, Ramonda, who must now rule the kingdom. Winston Duke and Martin Freeman will reprise their respective roles as M’Baku and Everett K. Ross. Dominique Thorne will also make her MCU debut in the movie as Riri Williams ahead of her Disney+ series, Ironheart, which will premiere next year.

Recommended Videos

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will hit theaters on Friday, November 11.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…
Marvel and Adidas collaborate on costumes and footwear for Wakanda Forever
Shuri and Okoye stand alongside a car in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The stars of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are returning to the big screen in style thanks to a partnership with a popular designer brand. Marvel and Adidas revealed their design collaboration on character costumes and footwear for the sequel to Black Panther. The featured characters include Shuri, Okoye, and Riri.

This marks the first time Marvel has partnered with a sportswear company for costumes. Ruth E. Carter, the veteran designer who won an Oscar for costume design for Black Panther, oversaw the project with a team predominantly composed of female designers and those from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as members of the Adidas School for Experiential Education in Design (S.E.E.D.).

Read more
The best Black Panther comics to read before Wakanda Forever
Black Panther attacks in a Marvel comic book.

Usually, being excited about the next Marvel movie doesn't come loaded with tragedy, but Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is something of an exception. The film had to be totally rethought following the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman, the actor at the center of the first film.

Now, Wakanda is in mourning, and fans are trying to figure out what Ryan Coogler and company are going to do to make Wakanda Forever feel as triumphant and fulfilling as the first iteration. We won't know for sure until the movie actually hits theaters, but there are some comics that may offer us insight into what Wakanda Forever might look like.
New Avengers by Jonathan Hickman

Read more
Wakanda comes under attack in new Black Panther 2 clip
Letitia Wright in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

In just under two weeks, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will take the MCU into new territory while also paying tribute to both Chadwick Boseman and his character, T'Challa. Although the heroes of Wakanda are mourning their king, they won't have time to wallow in their grief. That's because their nation is getting dragged into war with Talokan, an underwater kingdom led by Namor, the Sub-Mariner (Tenoch Huerta). And as you can see in the following preview scene, when Talokan attacks, they do so with overwhelming force.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Exclusive Movie Clip - Wakanda Defends (2022)

Read more