Marvel Studios has unveiled the trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to eager fans, who expressed their approval in a lively session at Comic-Con in San Diego.
The film is the sequel to 2018’s Black Panther, which starred the late Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, the legendary crime-fighting king of Wakanda.
The trailer opens with a female vocalist singing No Woman, No Cry. We see Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) sitting on the throne and scenes of what appears to be a funeral procession.
Marvel previously confirmed it would not be re-casting the role of T’Challa, a decision that has divided fans – some believing it should forever belong to Boseman, who died of colon cancer in 2020, and some voices – including Boseman’s brother – saying the role should pass to a new actor.
Reprising their roles for the film are British star Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri – the Black Panther’s sister – Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, an undercover spy in service to Wakanda and Winston Duke as M’Baku.
In the trailer, we see someone else don the Black Panther suit. Is it Shuri? But how long will she wear it for? In one of the most perplexing parts of the trailer, Queen Ramonda says, “I am Queen of the most powerful nation in the world, and my entire family is gone. Have I not given everything?”
Is it possible that Shuri dies in the film, leaving the Black Panther mantle open to someone else? Or is this just a red herring? I’ve previously speculated that someone other than Shuri could become the Black Panther. I’m not going to speculate too much here, but those words are very deliberate.
Watch the trailer below.
Wakanda Forever confirms a long-standing casting rumour by introducing Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico) as anti-hero Namor McKenzie, known as the Sub-Mariner. Namor is the ruler of Atlantis and the film’s antagonist. The trailer hints at a conflict between Wakanda and his people.
Other new additions to the cast include Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) and Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart – a teenage inventor who becomes a superhero. Ironheart will get her own show on Disney+ in 2023.
As the first superhero film to be nominated for an Academy Award, Black Panther became a cultural landmark for diversity in filmmaking.
I think it’s Shuri in the suit. She will become the Black Panther as she did in the comics. I think they should have recast T’Challa not because of Letitia Wright but because there is so much more story to tell.