Who’s starring in this Marvel Studios sequel without the franchise’s leading man?
While almost every Marvel film is a major blockbuster, there is something special about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The first Black Panther was not only a box-office smash and the first superhero film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, but it also became a cultural phenomenon. All of this adds to the anticipation for the long-awaited Black Panther sequel.
New footage from BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER has been played at CinemaCon!
Principal photography for #BlackPanther 2 will be completely finished in Puerto Rico next week!
Sources say the film’s post-production started simultaneously with filming in July 2021 and with added crew from Avatar 2, VFX are scheduled to be finished in September! pic.twitter.com/URqj8kvb5z
— Black Panther 2 News (@bpanthernews) March 12, 2022
With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ms. Marvel, Thor: Love and Thunder, and more already on the way, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to be the proverbial icing on the cake for Marvel’s 2022.
When will Black Panther: Wakanda Forever be released?
On November 11, the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be released in theaters. Following Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 6 and Thor: Love and Thunder on July 8, it will be the third new Marvel Cinematic Universe film to be released in 2022.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was supposed to be released on July 8, but Disney shuffled a number of release dates around in fall 2021, causing Black Panther to be pushed to November.
What is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever about?
Because no official logline for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has been released yet, Marvel has been characteristically tight-lipped about any plot details. We can, however, give you a quick recap of the last time we saw these characters.
After defeating Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) in 2018’s Black Panther, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) decided to open Wakanda to the rest of the world. This helped to set the stage for the events of Avengers: Infinity War, in which Wakanda was used as a battleground between Earth’s heroes and Thanos’ forces. T’Challa and Shuri were among Earth’s most powerful heroes when Thanos wiped out half of the universe’s population in that battle (Letita Wright).
WAKANDA FOREVER! #InfinityWar pic.twitter.com/KpPPHrIFa5
— Pantera Negra Brasil (@panteranegrabr_) April 24, 2022
Okoye (Danai Gurira) is the de facto leader of Wakanda in Avengers: Endgame. We don’t see much of her, though she does mention that she is watching for earthquakes at the bottom of the ocean. When the Avengers face Thanos again, their strategy succeeds in bringing back everyone who was snapped away in the previous film, including T’Challa and Shuri. At the conclusion of that film, the main Black Panther characters were seen celebrating Earth’s victory.
This means that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s plot and potential villain could go almost anywhere, though fans have theories about the underwater earthquakes Okoye was talking about and the casting of Tenoch Huerta as Namor indicate they will go against the Atlateans. Following Chadwick Boseman’s death in 2020, we can assume that part of the story will revolve around someone else assuming the mantle of Black Panther.
Who’s in the cast of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?
For the sequel, many of the original Black Panther cast members have returned. Letita Wright, Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong’o, and Danai Gurira are among those mentioned. Martin Freeman will play Everett K. Ross, Angela Bassett will play Queen Ramonda, and Florence Kasumba will play Ayo. W’Kabi, played by Daniel Kaluuya, appears to be returning to the franchise, according to some leaks.
The new BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER footage shown at CinemaCon included a “shot of Nakia, Shuri & Okoye all on the front line of what looked like a major battle approaching.”
via: @ErikDavis pic.twitter.com/7FtJ1YWB30
— Black Panther 2 News (@bpanthernews) April 27, 2022
Meanwhile, the Black Panther cast has added some exciting new members, including Tenoch Huerta and Michaela Cole. Cole is an award-winning actor and creator for the series I May Destroy You, while Huerta is best known for his role in Narcos: Mexico.
