Since Black Panther premiered in February 2018, fans have been clamoring for a sequel. In 2022, they’ll finally get their wish.
Few details have emerged about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but it is clear that it’s going to be very different than the first film. After Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer at age 43 in August 2020, the filmmakers had to rethink how a sequel would work without his character, T’Challa.
In December 2020, Disney announced that a new actor would not be hired to fill the role, adding that the new movie would focus on other characters within the world of Wakanda, the fictional African country where T’Challa was king.
“Honoring Chadwick Boseman’s legacy & portrayal of T’Challa, @MarvelStudios will not recast the character, but will explore the world of Wakanda & the rich characters introduced in the first film,” the company tweeted.
Marvel executive Victoria Alonso has also said the studio has no plans to digitally recreate Boseman’s image for the film.
“There’s only one Chadwick and he’s not with us,” she told Argentinean outlet Clarin in November 2020. “Our king, unfortunately, has died in real life, not just in fiction, and we are taking time to see how we continue the story and what we do to honor this chapter of what has happened to us that was so unexpected, so painful, so terrible, really.”
Ryan Coogler, who signed on to write and direct the sequel after directing and cowriting the first, thinks Boseman would want everyone involved in the franchise to press on without him.
“I know Chad wouldn’t have wanted us to stop,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in March 2021. “He was somebody who was so about the collective. Black Panther, that was his movie. He was hired to play that role before anybody else was even thought of, before I was hired, before any of the actresses were hired.”
Lupita Nyong’o, who played Nakia in the first film, agreed with the director. “It’s gonna be different, of course, without our king to go back into that world, but I know that all of us are dedicated to reimagining or carrying on his legacy in this new Black Panther,” the Oscar winner said during a March 2021 appearance on Good Morning America. “And Ryan Coogler has some really, really exciting ideas that I look forward to bringing to life with the rest of the family.”
Keep scrolling for everything we know about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever:
Nyong'o, Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, Martin Freeman, Letitia Wright, Florence Kasumba and Danai Gurira all reprise their roles from the first film. The credits in the July 2022 trailer gave Wright top billing with Nyong'o and Gurira following. The teaser also revealed that Tenoch Huerta is in the cast, adding fuel to rumors also Huerta will play Namor the Sub-Mariner, a Marvel character who first appeared all the way back in 1939. Michaela Coel was also confirmed as a cast member in the trailer. Marvel/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
This part, at least, is confirmed — though it has moved several times in the wake of the pandemic and Boseman's death. After initially being set for May 2022 and moving to the following July, the date was once again shifted in October 2021. The second film will now premiere in theaters on November 11, 2022. Production began in Atlanta in June 2021. Marvel/Disney
Not even the cast knows the answer to this one. In a May 2021 interview with James Corden, Freeman, who plays CIA agent Everett K. Ross, said that his conversations with Coogler have done little to illuminate the movie's plot. "He sort of meticulously took me through all of my character's beats in the film," the Sherlock alum explained. "He took me through the film, but incorporating my character's beats. Some of it was very odd, and I think he could see from the reaction on my face to some of the things he was saying. He kept sort of stopping, and he kept going, 'Stay with me, but this is going to work. I mean, we've not done it yet, who knows, we might make it awful, but I'm hoping we won't. I hope people will be in for a treat." As Marvel fans know, the mantle of Black Panther gets passed down through generations, so it's likely that someone else will take on the title in Wakanda Forever. T'Challa's sister Shuri (Wright) eventually became Black Panther and queen of Wakanda in the comic books, so her journey is certainly a possibility for the sequel's plot. "I don't know what it's going to look like at all," Bassett, who plays T'Challa's mother, Ramonda, told Entertainment Tonight of the movie in July 2021. "There have been about five incarnations of the script and I hear another one's coming." Moviestore/Shutterstock
This is a secret too, but Marvel president Kevin Feige has implied it will honor him in some way. “It’s clearly very emotional without Chad,” he told Variety in June 2021. “But everyone is also very excited to bring the world of Wakanda back to the public and back to the fans. We’re going to do it in a way that would make Chad proud.” Bassett agreed, telling ET that things were "shifted and changed" following Boseman's death. "Thankfully, Ryan and [screenwriter] Joe Robert Cole, they're just such masterful storytellers that they've found a way into this world and hopefully it will be satisfying, I think, for the fans, and it will be honorable of our Chad. We love our king." Marvel/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
No cameos have been confirmed, but Anthony Mackie is ready to suit up as the Falcon if anyone asks him. "I do have a Wakanda visa, so I can go to Wakanda as much as I want," the actor joked to ET in May 2021. "I have a passport and a Wakanda visa and I'm vaccinated, so I can go to Wakanda." Zade Rosenthal/Marvel/Kobal/Shutterstock
Jordan's character, Killmonger, seemingly died at the end of the first movie, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything in a Marvel movie. If the writers find a way to bring him back, he's said he would be happy to return. Asked to rate the likelihood of a Killmonger resurrection on a scale of 1 to 10, the actor settled on a 2. "I didn't want to go zero!" he said during an April 2021 interview on The Jess Cagle Show. "Never say never. I can't predict the future." Marvel/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
In August 2021, Feige revealed that Dominique Thorne will appear in the film as Riri Williams, a.k.a. Ironheart, before she headlines the Disney+ series Ironheart. "We're shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, right now, and the character of Riri Williams, you will meet in Black Panther 2 first," he told ComicBook.com. "She started shooting, I think, this week before her Ironheart series." Dave Allocca/Starpix/Shutterstock
In August 2021, Wright sustained minor injuries while filming a stunt on the Boston set of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. At the time, a Disney spokesperson said in a statement that the Marvel actress was “receiving care in a local hospital and is expected to be released soon,” but the extent of her injuries were not disclosed. At the 2021 Emmy Awards, Bassett, who plays Wright’s onscreen mother, shared an update on the young actress’ status after reportedly injuring herself on a stunt rig. "She had a little bit of a fall, but it's not too bad," the 9-1-1 actress told Entertainment Tonight. "You know, anything like that will shake you up, she's just a little, slight, little petite thing. But she is fine and ready to go." Bassett is also ready to get back into character and honor the film's late star, Boseman. "Every day is just a testament and a love fest for our dear [Boseman]," she told ET. Photo by Marvel/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
The superhero sequel temporarily shut down production in November 2021 so that Wright could heal from an earlier on-set injury, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Letitia has been recovering in London since September from injuries sustained on the set of Black Panther 2 and is looking forward to returning to work early 2022,” a representative for Wright said in a statement to the publication. “Letitia kindly asks that you keep her in your prayers.” The Sing 2 actress was involved in a stunt-related accident in August 2021. At the time, Marvel Studios said it would not impact the film’s shooting schedule. David Fisher/Shutterstock for BAFTA
After Wright's late November injury, filming was delayed again in early January 2022 as Nyong'o and several other cast and crew members tested positive for COVID-19. The pause only lasted for a week and filming resumed in mid-January, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Marvel/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
Producer Nate Moore confirmed in November 2021 that T'Challa will not be recast nor will a computer-generated version of Boseman play the Wakandan king after the actor's death. “We just couldn’t do it," the producer said on "The Ringer-Verse" podcast.“When Chad passed, it was a real conversation we had with [director Ryan] Coogler about what do we do, and it was a fast conversation,” Moore said. “I think we all feel so much of T’Challa in the MCU on the screen – not in comics – is tied to Chadwick’s performance, is what he brought to that role both on and off-screen.”However, Boseman's brother Derrick wants the role recast, he told TMZ in December 2021. While the actor “never explicitly expressed his wishes before his death,” Derrick believes that Chadwick would want T’Challa's story to continue. Marvel/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
"There will be a Black Panther 2. November. Look for it in November. It will be amazing," Bassett teased on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in March 2022. "It is going to be amazing. It is going to top [the first] one.“ Matt Baron/Shutterstock
Though Daniel Kaluuya played an important role in the first film as W'Kabi — T'Challa's best friend, a former head of security for Wakanda and Okoye's husband — he won't be seen in the sequel. "BREAKING NEWS: Fresh from my NOPE interview with Daniel Kaluuya he did not reprise his role in #BlackPanther2 due to his schedule conflicts w/ #NOPE!," Rotten Tomatoes editor Jacqueline Coley revealed via Twitter in July 2022. "It's official he's not in #BlackPantherWakandaForever." Matt Kennedy/Marvel/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
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