When one door closes, another one opens. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the start of a new beginning.
After the death of King T’Challa, Wakanda is targeted by other world powers as they mistakenly think they are vulnerable to attack without the Black Panther. However, with no Black Panther and a new threat washing ashore, the kingdom needs a new protector.
The film had many interruptions during its production which led to it being pushed back multiple times. Coronavirus, Letitia Wright vaccine controversy and the passing of Chadwick Boseman.
The original script was scrapped after the film’s lead actor Chadwick Boseman passed in August 2020 due to colon cancer. Instead of focusing on T’Challa dealing with lost time due to the blip, the film instead is centered around dealing with the loss of a leader.
There were calls for T’Challa to be recast but ultimately the studio decided not to. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in an interview with Empire Magazine that “it just felt like it was much too soon”. Deciding to let his character pass on in the film allowed for a beautiful tribute to the late actor.
Director Ryan Coogler had a lot of weight on his shoulders for this film following the death of Boseman. He had to continue the film without its lead actor and give fans the film they were hoping for.
And Coogler did an amazing job with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever being the best film in phase 4. Unlike Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder which were rather underwhelming, Wakanda Forever exceeds expectations.
Returning characters include Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje. Ross (Martin Freeman) also makes a return with a new face to phase 4 who is likely to become a big part in the next phase.
Wakanda Forever is surprisingly comedic with many jokes being thrown Okoye’s way. The jokes felt natural instead of forced like we have seen in some recent Marvel productions.
While being comedic the film is also expectedly full of emotion. It was one of the most powerfully touching film in the entire MCU with the impact of the loss of Chadwick Boseman evident.
And of course, the costumes in the film were spectacular. Ruth Carter, who won an Oscar for her costumes in the first film, returned for the sequel to create more stunning outfits for the characters.
The CGI in the film was the best seen from Marvel in a while with the recent Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law facing major criticism. The show was certainly right when they joked about the visual effects team had “moved onto another project”.
Marvel should aim for their upcoming projects to be of the same standard of this latest Black Panther film, but with a long list of projects to come, there is doubt they will be able to produce a good standard of CGI.
Wakanda again was a marvel to see along with the new city of Talokan. The city of Wakanda wows time and time again and is built up incredibly. This is the first time we are seeing Talokan it was like seeing Wakanda for the first time, completely shocked that this place doesn’t exist and is constructed by CGI.
Wakanda Forever has just one mid-credit scene. The scene was in the original script, but it holds more weight since Boseman passed.
The scene shows how T’Challa’s legacy will live on and the future of the Black Panther. It again is a deeply emotional scene that is bound to make you shed a tear.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in cinemas now.
Featured Image Credit: Marvel Studios
Lifestyle Editor / Third year journalism student
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