Wakanda might be forever, but production for the Black Panther sequel is taking longer than expected. Black Panther’s star-studded cast, including Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, and Chadwick Boseman, started filming the sequel Wakanda Forever in June 2020, a year racked with COVID-19-induced tragedy. When Boseman passed away on August 28 from stage-four colon cancer, Marvel fans mourned the death of the actor, and the crew readjusted the script to account for the loss. After director Ryan Coogler decided not to recast T’Challa or use a CGI rendition of his character in the sequel, many speculated that T’Challa’s tech-genius sister Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, would assume the central role. However, obstacles ranging from stunt injuries that left Wright hospitalized to COVID-19 regulations delayed the film’s release multiple times. Somehow, Daniel Kaluuya’s pseudo-spiritual leader Heir Holiness was the least of their worries. Now, it’s slated for a November 11 premiere with a trailer that teases who the new female Black Panther might be. Take your guesses now. Below, we break down the tragedies, vaccine rumors, and delays that drew out the premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
August 2020
Chadwick Boseman died at 43 from colon cancer at his home in Los Angeles after filming Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Da 5 Bloods in between surgeries and chemotherapy. Boseman played the role of the titular Black Panther, imbuing the character with the same sense of quiet strength that he harbored in real life. On set, Boseman urged the cast to speak in South African accents and honed in on the film’s Afrofuturist narrative by conducting setwide discussions on African spirituality. Boseman was a fan of the Black Panther comics ever since his undergraduate years at Howard University. After his death, Coogler restructured the Black Panther 2 story line to memorialize the actor.
August 15, 2020
Chicago film critic Emmanuel Noisette launched an ongoing Change.org petition urging Marvel executives to #RecastT’Challa. They iterated that although Boseman could not be replaced, “If Marvel Studios removes T’Challa, it would be at the expense of the audiences (especially Black men and boys) who saw themselves in him.†Chadwick’s brother Derrick Boseman told TMZ in December 2021 that he believes his sibling would have wanted to see T’Challa live on, even if another actor took the mantle. Despite their urging, Coogler announced in December 2021 that T’Challa would not be recast.
December 2020
Shuri actor Letitia Wright retweeted a now-deleted transphobic, anti-vaxx video from YouTube channel On the Table. Wright endorsed the video with a prayer-hands emoji before responding to the ensuing backlash. “If you don’t conform to popular opinions but ask questions and think for yourself … you get cancelled,†she tweeted. On December 4, Wright wrote, “My ONLY intention of posting the video was it raised concerns with what the vaccine contains and what we are putting in our bodies.†Wright’s Marvel co-star Don Cheadle slammed the video online, calling it “hot garbage.†“i would never defend anybody posting this. but i still won’t throw her away over it,†he added.
August 2021
On set for the sequel, Wright sustained minor injuries from a stunt rig that left her hospitalized in Boston. Sources said that the injuries would not impact scheduling.
October 2021
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Wright allegedly endorsed anti-vaccine perspectives on the set of Black Panther 2. THR also wrote that Disney would roll out a sticker system in October that would indicate which crew members received the vaccination. However, the sticker system would not affect Black Panther 2, as it was already in production. The actress denied these allegations a week later on Instagram. “I honestly assert that this was completely untrue,†she wrote, alongside a photo of a suit of armor and a Bible verse.
November 2021
Marvel shuts down Wakanda Forever production beginning the week of Thanksgiving. In the months following Wright’s stunt-rig injuries, Coogler was said to have shot all of the scenes not involving Shuri. Although the studio stated in August that Wright’s injuries would not affect the production schedule, the crew went on hiatus while waiting for her to recover. “Letitia has been recovering in London since September from injuries sustained on the set of Black Panther 2 and is looking forward to returning to work early 2022,†Wright’s representative told THR.
January 7, 2022
Police handcuff Ryan Coogler at an Atlanta branch of Bank of America after a teller mistook him for a bank robber. The bank teller, who is also Black, reportedly told her manager that Coogler was a robber when he handed her a withdrawal slip for $10,000 with a note asking for discretion on the back. The police verified Coogler’s identity before releasing him. “This situation should never have happened,†Coogler said in a March 9 statement, adding that Bank of America “worked with me and addressed it to my satisfaction and we have moved on.â€
January 14, 2022
Omicron surges on the Atlanta set led to yet another reported delay. Nyong’o — who plays Wakanda spy Nakia — tested positive for the virus, as did several other cast and crew members. Thankfully, the delay only lasted a week. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and its elusive plot — with Michaela Coel in tow — will premiere in theaters on November 11, pending any other obstacles.
July 13, 2022
Daniel Kaluuya confirms to awards editor Jacqueline Coley that he will not reprise his role as W’Kabi in the upcoming Black Panther sequel, due to scheduling conflicts with Jordan Peele’s NOPE, which premieres July 22.
July 23, 2022
Four years after the original movie debuted, a teaser for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is released at San Diego Comic-Con. “For us as a cast, having lost our king, Chadwick Boseman, that was a lot to process, and in many ways, we’re still processing it,†Nyong’o told The Hollywood Reporter. “When you lose someone, I don’t know when you stop missing them. And of course, we felt it so much making this film without him.†The most exciting part of the trailer? A brief glimpse we get of somebody in the Black Panther suit.
September 26, 2022
Speaking to Empire for a Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cover story, Marvel head Kevin Feige explains why his team chose not to recast T’Challa following the shocking death of Boseman. “It just felt like it was much too soon to recast,†he says. “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 Ryan poured that into the story.†When deciding on what to do next, Feige says the sequel wanted to continue the legacy of Boseman and “what he had done to help Wakanda and the Black Panther become these incredible, aspirational, iconic ideas.â€
So who’s taking up the mantle? A preview of the upcoming movie’s LEGO set may have accidentally revealed who will be behind the mask. The new build, titled “Shuri’s Sunbird,†features Shuri’s aircraft and a mini figure of her in what looks to be the Black Panther suit. (The potential LEGO spoiler is reminiscent of another incident earlier this summer, in which a Monopoly game revealed key plot points from Stranger Things 4.) We’ll be wondering, Is this your king queen? until the film finally comes out.
October 3, 2022
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases its first official trailer. Whereas the teaser focused on the grief of a community in the wake of T’Challa’s death, the trailer broadens outward, showing more of the plot, more of the action, and more of the antagonist, Namor, the king of an underwater nation played by Tenoch Huerta. The Namor of Wakanda Forever has been reimagined from the comics and will be portrayed by a Mexican actor. To see this king challenge the new, female Black Panther, you’ll have to wait until November 11.
October 11, 2022
Marvel Studios releases a slew of character posters on Twitter, showing all our favorite returners in their full glory. The posters notably include a look at Riri Williams, a.k.a. Ironheart, played by Dominque Thorne, who will be introduced to the MCU with this movie then get a quick spinoff TV show over on Disney+, with cast members including Anthony Ramos and Drag Race’s Shea Coulee. Also notable is a sight of I May Destroy You creator and star Michaela Coel as Aneka, a look at underwater beings Namora and Attuma, and, way down at the bottom, Martin Freeman back as the resident white guy, Everett Ross. They’re still rocking with Mark, I guess.
October 26, 2022
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premieres in Hollywood with a surprise assist from another RiRi: Rihanna. The singer, who spent the last six years away from the studio to build a billion-dollar beauty empire, contributes not one but two ballads to the movie’s soundtrack. Both songs, titled “Lift Me Up†and “Born Again,†play during the end credits, according to reporter Kyle Buchanan. Meanwhile, Chadwick Boseman’s memory is present on the red carpet. Director Ryan Coogler wears a necklace with the late actor’s image on the pendant. “It was a necklace that I had made while we were getting ready to start filming because I wanted to keep him close to me,†he tells Good Morning America. “I hope we made him proud,†Coogler added. Letitia Wright, for her part, dons a black suit with a crystal harness reminiscent of the Givenchy fit Boseman wore to the 2018 Academy Awards. Wakanda Forever finally premieres on October 28.
November 9, 2022
Letitia Wright shares the extent of the injuries she sustained while filming Wakanda Forever. In late August 2021, Wright was placed in a “biscuit rig†— a driveable platform attached to a vehicle, allowing the camera to shoot her riding a motorcycle — to film a chase sequence. “It clipped a median and sheared the bike off, and it tumbled,†producer Nate Moore told Variety in a cover story. Following the accident, Wright was hospitalized with a concussion and a fractured soldier, among other injuries. It took four and a half months for her to recover, though the actor said she continued to suffer from post-concussion syndrome when back on set. “I’m still processing it,†she said. “I’m still working through it in therapy. It was really traumatic.â€
As for Wright’s anti-vaxx allegations following a now-deleted tweet from the actor in 2020, castmate Angela Bassett said she never heard Wright talk about her views, while Moore insists her vaccination status did not encumber the film. “She only ever was the utmost professional and a joy to have around,†Moore added. “She didn’t cost us a moment. I mean, her injury was the thing that cost us, and that was no fault of her own.â€