By Destiny Montgomery
Staff Writer
Ever since the release of “Black Panther” in 2018, fans have been waiting for its sequel since. However, after actor Chadwick Boseman who played T’Challa aka Black Panther passed away in 2020, fans have been skeptical about the sequel and how it would work. Now that the release of the movie is approaching, coming out on Nov. 11, Marvel Studios is releasing new information and teasers in order to prepare us for the movie.
Ultimately, they decided not to recast T’Challa as a character, but to have another character take over as the Black Panther. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said in an interview with Empire, ““It just felt like it was much too soon to recast. Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there’s a relatable and human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And [director and co-writer] Ryan [Coogler] poured that into the story.” So, with that being said, who is taking the title?
That information is something that we are going to have to wait to find out until we see the movie. Right now, the biggest theory is that T’Challa’s sister, Shuri (Letita Wright) will be receiving the title. However, there are definitely other possibilities such as Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), Okoye (Danai Gurira) or even Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett).
Along with a new Black Panther, the MCU is bringing in new characters. After watching the trailer, one of the biggest new characters is Namor. He is a sub-mariner and is one of Marvel Comic’s oldest characters. In the MCU, he has roots in Aztec and Mayan and is from the underwater realm of Talocan. He is going to be played by Tenoch Huerta.
Another popular character joining the MCU is Riri Williams, better known as Ironheart. She is an MIT student and engineer, like Shuri. She reverse engineered Iron Man’s suit out of parts and built her own suit. After this movie, she will have her own Disney+ series in 2023. She will be played by Dominique Thorne.
So far, we know that the movie takes place one year after T’Challa’s death. The trailer and teaser show mostly the grief that comes along with losing someone, but we also see what looks to be some important parts of the plot. Marvel Studios released an official synopsis that states: ““Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje, fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” will be the concluding movie of Phase 4.