Black Panther 2: We Know Who Replaces Chadwick Boseman In Wakanda Forever
Here is all you need to know about Black Panther 2.
Although Marvel did not officially announce Black Panther 2 as part of MCU Phase 4 at Marvel’s Phase 4 reveal at Comic-Con 2019, we can confirm that it’s going to happen. The box office smash first Black Panther movie from director Ryan Coogler made $1.344 billion at the box office, against a budget of $200 million.
In fact, Black Panther broke records for the superhero genre as well as landing a historic Golden Globes nomination. Although it did not win, the movie also made history at the 2019 Academy Awards by becoming the first superhero movie to receive a nomination for the Best Picture Oscar.
Here is all you need to know about Black Panther 2.
Replacing Chadwick Boseman
In a tragic turn of events, Black Panther 2’s star, the Black Panther himself, Chadwick Boseman died of Colon Cancer in August of 2020. Whether the franchise will go on or should go on without him remains up in the air. We’ve made the case that maybe they should just shut the whole thing down.
However, rumors about the fate of Black Panther 2 are already swirling and this source claims Disney has already chosen a direction. They say Black Panther 2 will happen with Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa dying off camera. His sister Shuri will then become the new Black Panther, tasked with protecting Wakanda.
Here’s one artist’s idea of how Shuri would look as the new Black Panther…
And here’s Shuri as she appeared in the first Black Panther movie.
For now the above is just a rumor, we’ll update this space with more info as it circulates.
Is It Actually Called Black Panther 2?
This is the second movie so expect everyone you know to call it Black Panther 2. However, the movie’s official title was rumored to be Black Panther: The Lost Kingdom. As it turns out, the official reveal came to be something else, something a little more powerful for those who feel tied to Wakanda itself.
Now, Marvel has released an online video, Marvel Studios Celebrates the Movies, where they announced the official title for the sequel. Black Panther 2 is actually called Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Bringing In Beyonce
Word is that Marvel is in talks with Beyonce to take part in Black Panther 2. Odds are she won’t do any acting, but they do want her musical talents to create and sing songs for the film’s soundtrack.
The deal between Marvel and Beyonce is rumored to be as much as $90 million and it would likely be for two projects, only one of which would be work on Black Panther 2. For Beyonce it seems like a slam dunk to attach herself to Marvel. Any song she creates for it will immediately get a boost in the pop charts, plus she gets $90 million no matter what. Why not?
Black Panther 2 Cast: Who’s Coming Back?
Black Panther 2 was officially announced at Disney’s D3 convention, one month after Comic-Con International 2019. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed the news in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. He said, “We absolutely will do that,” but did not reveal any plot secrets.
We expect that the original Wakandan cast members will return. They include Letitia Wright (Shuri), Lupita Nyong’ o (Nakia), Daniel Kaluuya (W’Kabi), and Danai Gurira (Okoye).
Other likely returning cast members include Winston Duke (M’Baku) and Angela Basset (Ramonda, T’Challa’s mother). It’s also expected that Martin Freeman will reprise his role as CIA agent Everett K. Ross. He says, “As far as I know, I will be in another Black Panther movie… As to when that will happen, I don’t know.”
In an interview with MTV, Michael B. Jordan revealed that he would love to reprise his role as villain Killmonger. Rumor has it that might actually happen. What’s puzzling about the return of villain Killmonger is that we watched him die at the end of Black Panther. He does come back to life in the comics though, so a resurrection would not be unprecedented.
And recently, it looks like we have some confirmation that Michael B. Jordan will, in fact, be returning. Originally, Giant Freakin Robot had the exclusive that he was going to get back in the mix as Killmonger for this next movie. And then ScreenGeek confirmed that scoop. It’s not totally clear how they will handle the fact that Killmonger, you know, died at the end of Black Panther. But in the world of comic book movies, that lift is a little easier than in other kinds of stories.
The Team Behind Black Panther 2
Ryan Coogler will return as director and writer on Black Panther 2. In an interview with IndieWire, Coogler revealed, “I have had a chance to make three features films. Each of the films had its own specific type of pressure. In the process, it feels insurmountable. When it comes to making a sequel, I have never done it before. So, I think there is going to be a lot of pressure there.” Ryan Coogler also co-wrote and directed Creed, the seventh film in the Rocky Series. He’s also set to serve as producer and writer on Space Jam 2 starring Lebron James.
As for where they’re at on Black Panther 2 Coogler says, “We will try to go step by step and try to quiet everything else around us while placing focus on making something with some type of meaning.”
We also expect Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios President, to produce the movie just like the first Black Panther movie.
New Cast
Ryan Coogler is currently mapping out Black Panther 2 and word is that he has written in a number of new characters. At one point Director Ryan Coogler was in talks with Donald Glover for Black Panther 2. No word yet on who he might play, if those talks pan out.
The Plot
At the moment, Marvel Studios is keeping the plot of Black Panther 2 a closely guarded secret. However, Kevin Feige has been dropping vague hints as to what they’re planning for the future of Wakanda.
In the first movie, T’Challa became King and protector of Wakanda after facing off M’Baku and Killmonger. Rumor has it that Wakanda may come under attack yet again. This attack may originate from Princess Zanda or Namor.
Reportedly, Marvel Studios settled on Namor as the principal antagonist of Black Panther 2. In the comics Namor is a fictional character who is the mutant son of a princess of Atlantis and a human sea captain. Similar to Aquaman (DC Comics), Namor also possesses aquatic abilities and super strength.
The Namor rumors fit pretty well with the movie’s likely title, Black Panther: The Lost Kingdom. Namor’s Atlantis would, of course, be The Lost Kingdom being referenced there.
Namor has been both a hero and a villain in his comic book history, so either way they want to use him would make sense. Bringing him in now as a bad guy could be a way to set up a heroic turn in future Marvel movies.
Sources speculate that the plot action will take place when Wakandans will go to war with Atlantis after the former pollutes the sea. While Wakandans were polluting the sea, they were unaware that the city of Atlantis lies deep in the ocean. Due to the rising levels of pollution, Namor would take action.
Wolverine Rumored To Appear In Black Panther 2
Now that Marvel owns the X-Men again they’re keen to fold them in to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. In particular they’ve been working a lot on a plan for Wolverine and now word is they have one.
Rumor has it that Marvel wants their new Wolverine to make his first appearance in Black Panther 2. The idea revolves around the discovery of Adamantium in Wakanda. That would make a certain amount of sense, Wakanda is already set up as a source of rare and exotic metals like Vibranium and Adamantium is an offshot of Vibranium. For them to end up with a source of Adamantium too, would fit with the MCU as currently established.
As for who will play Wolverine, all we know for now is that it won’t be Hugh Jackman. Disney reportedly tried to get him back, but he feels he’s too old to play the part and is not interested at any price.
So Who Will Be The Next Black Panther?
This has been open to speculation and rumoring for quite some time now. Like we said above, the clear signs early on pointed to Letitia Wright getting into and taking over the lead role in the franchise. But there have been some issues along the way the actress coming under fire for unpopular views she had around the pandemic and vaccines in general. That had some feeling that she could be replaced in the role moving forward. And then the actress suffered injuries on set that had the whole production shut down for a number of months.
And then there was the word that Winston Duke had renegotiated his contract in light of this news and was now in line for a hefty pay increase. There were some that thought this could be a sign that he was actually, maybe, taking over in the lead role. This is still an open-ended situation with some chance we see multiple characters taking the Black Panther mantle before it’s all said and done.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Trailer Is Finally Here
There has been so much speculation around this franchise for so long and with good reason. With the passing of Chadwick Boseman, the franchise really had some hard questions to answer about how (or even if) they would continue. A tragedy like that will really call things into focus about whether it was even worth it. But they forged ahead with a new movie and from the looks of things, it looks pretty spectacular. The first trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dropped at Comic-Con and there and it was most definitely worth the wait. Check it out:
With a beautiful and haunting cover of “No Woman No Cry” by Tems, the Wakanda Forever trailer delivers on nearly every level. It gives us a sense that there is great loss in Wakanda with the death of T’Challa (Boseman) and it is a country struggling to see how to move forward. We are treated to many of the characters who could take up the Black Panther mantle. There’s Letitia Wright’s Shuri, Winston Duke’s M’Baku, and of course others in the Dora Milaje. But mostly we see a group that is back to now fight one of their greatest threats yet.
That’s going to be in the form of Namor played by Tenoch Huerta. The film shows a building battle between the country of Wakanda and a group of underwater dwellers, similar to Atlantis, who have their own plans in mind. It very much appears that the goals of each country will be called into question because while it’s clear that Wakanda Forever is setting up the conflict, we don’t get the overwhelming sense that Namor is evil in this sense. There could be moral lines drawn before it’s all said and done.
The Black Panther 2 trailer builds the tension throughout in a stunning visual and sonic display. Frankly, it’s one of the best trailers we’ve ever seen in this respect. If the hype and mystery around this film was already pretty high, the trailer ramped it up even more. Ryan Coogler and company might have outdone themselves with Wakanda Forever.
The New Black Panther Is…
While it hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, and the trailer only showed the Black Panther suit and claws, not who actually was wearing it, we have a clue about the next Black Panther. Sometimes merchandising reveals can give us the best “look” or “clue” about a new movie. And that looks to be the case with Black Panther 2. Some Wakanda Forever Lego sets now show what looks to be Letitia Wright’s Shuri in the new suit. Is a toy the ultimate sign that she is taking over as the character? No, but these releases are typically pretty intentional.
There has been further speculation from other industry sources that this would be the case as well. Rumors had persisted early that it would be Shuri, though those subsided some when the actress ran into controversy around the aforementioned social media posts. It looks like she will be playing the character moving forward.
When Will Black Panther 2 Be Released?
Black Panther 2 was set to be released on May 6th, 2022. Then, delays moved the sequel to July 8, 2022. This release date seemed like a done deal until Marvel rearranged their entire release schedule.
Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever now officially releases on November 11, 2022.
