The hype for Black Panther 2 just went into overdrive. Marvel released a trailer for the highly anticipated 2018 Oscar-nominated Black Panther sequel at Marvel’s Comic-Con panel on July 23. The film, officially titled Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, features Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, and Letitia Wright as Shuri, all of whom face a new world after T’Challa’s death.
Most of the trailer doesn’t have any dialogue, but the footage is full of emotion. Shuri can be seen crying. In the face of pain, Ramonda remained firm. “I’m the queen of the most powerful nation in the world and my whole family is gone! Didn’t I give everything?” Ramonda asks in the trailer. The final moments of the trailer reveal a new character playing Black Panther’s cape. Although it is likely Shuri, her face is not shown.
Winston Duke and Angela Bassett, who played M’Baku and Ramonda respectively, also returned to defend Wakanda. Sadly, there’s no T’Challa, aka the original Black Panther, as star Chadwick Boseman tragically died of colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43.
Black Panther 2 will begin filming in June 2021 under director Ryan Coogler and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. It has previously been confirmed that T’Challa will not be recast after Chadwick’s death. Lupita told Yahoo in April 2021 that Coogler “reimagined” the film sequel to honor the late actor.
“His ideas, the way he reinvented the second film is very respectful of the loss we’ve gone through as actors and the world,” Lupita explained. “So it’s the right thing to do mentally and emotionally. Hopefully what I’m looking forward to is a reunion and honoring what he started with us and keeping his light. Because he’s left us a lot of light and we’re still It’s okay to bathe in it. I know that for sure.”
Kevin told Deadline in January 2021 that the goal of Black Panther 2 was to “continue to explore the world of Wakanda and all the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.” He added at the time: ” Ryan Coogler is now working very hard on the script with all the respect and love and genius he has, which gives us a lot of comfort, so it’s always been about furthering the myth and inspiration of Wakanda.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be released four months after Thor: Love and Thunder. The Captain Marvel sequel, Captain Marvel, will hit theaters a few months after Wakanda Forever on February 17, 2023. The sequel will be released on November 11, 2022.
