Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s global premiere is just a few weeks away, and the MCU fandom will soon learn the identity of the new Black Panther. But just before the release, director Ryan Coogler shared how the sequel’s story changed after the death of the actor, Chadwick Boseman, who played T’Challa.
As we know, Coogler could have recast T’Challa after Boseman passed away in 2020. Still, the director wanted to carry on Chadwick’s legacy without replacing him, for there is no T’Challa without Boseman.
Losing the titular character in a film’s sequel might have delayed the movie further, but now Coogler answers how the story’s core remained the same even after T’Challa moved on to the spiritual realm.
In an interview with Inverse, Ryan explained how the original script tackled T’Challa coping with his life post-Endgame after being blipped for five years and returning. The original film would have focused on T’Challa’s grief about time lost rather than his kingdom grieving him, but grief was always “a big part of it.”
The tonal shift, I will say, was less of a shift than in [casting]. The tone was going to be similar. [T’Challa] was going to be grieving the loss of time, you know, coming back after being gone for five years. As a man with so much responsibility to so many, coming back after a forced five years absence that’s what the film tackled. He was grieving a time he couldn’t get back.
The director highlighted how the story’s tone and spirit remained unchanged along with Namor’s existence, who was also included in the original script.
Grief was a big part of it. [Namor] was always the antagonist. There were other characters, for sure, that we considered including, but Namor was always there.
So, as stated by the director, the movie was always going to be an emotional ride. Coogler was mid-scriptwriting when T’Challa passed away, but it seems like the director understood T’Challa’s grief and its importance and incorporated similar agonizing emotion into the final cut.
Even though T’Challa may not be present with them, Wakanda still must fight to stave off Namor’s attack and maintain their place in the world.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will release in theaters on November 11, 2022.
About Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is an upcoming American superhero film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It will serve as the sequel to Black Panther (2018) and will be the 30th film in the MCU. The film is being written and directed by Ryan Coogler.
Wakanda grieves the loss of their King T’Challa as the nation deals with opening up their technology to the world. But apart from the diplomatic agencies’ onslaught, Wakanda must face yet another danger as the king of Talcon, an underwater nation like DC’s Atlantis, Namor, has declared war on Wakanda.
Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett will star in the film, which will premiere on November 11, 2022.
Source: Inverse
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