Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a breathtaking and cathartic step forward for the franchise (2024)

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Ryan Coogler’s first Black Panther film hit like a meteorite in 2018 and singlehandedly disproved the (still extant) notion that predominantly Black films can’t become global phenomenons that smash all kinds of box office records while also racking up critical acclaim. Even before Chadwick Boseman’s untimely death in 2020, the prospect of recreating the first film’s success was already a nigh-unimaginable task that led many to wonder how Marvel could ever hope to top itself with a sequel.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a bigger, more ambitious, and more stirringly poignant endeavor than its predecessor. But it doesn’t feel like the product of a studio merely trying to make a financially successful follow-up to one of its most popular and well-regarded films. Rather, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever plays like the triumphant celebration of an idea, the mournful farewell to an actual hero, and a promise of even greater things to come all rolled into one.

Set some time after the events of Avengers: Endgame and one year after the sudden death of King T’Challa (Boseman), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the story of how the vibranium-rich African nation and its people find the strength to keep going after the unexpected loss of their champion. Wakanda Forever stops just short of blurring the line between fiction and reality as the broad strokes of T’Challa’s death are detailed in its opening scenes that smartly and respectfully put much more focus on how his sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), and their mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett), are devastated by his passing.

Much in the same way that Boseman was more than just an actor to many of his fans and peers, T’Challa was more than a superhero or a typical king to those who knew him, and Wakanda Forever centers that idea in a way that makes his legacy a central part of the film. A love for Chadwick and an undying reverence for T’Challa can be felt throughout Wakanda Forever. But the movie is careful to not be so bound up in those powerful emotions that it ever feels narratively inflexible or stuck in the past — a necessary choice that plays an important role in Wakanda Forever’s ability to move the ongoing tale of the MCU’s Black Panther forward.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a breathtaking and cathartic step forward for the franchise (1)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a breathtaking and cathartic step forward for the franchise (2)

Though Wakanda Forever never lets you forget that Wakanda and her people are in a nationwide state of grieving, it uses that grief as a jumping-off point to explore a number of the complicated consequences of T’Challa’s death and his actions in the first Black Panther. After an alien invasion, super terrorist attacks, and all of the other wild things that have been happening in the MCU, Wakanda finds itself in the uniquely difficult position of being seen as both the solution to and the cause of the world’s problems because of its vibranium.

As always, Wakanda’s ready and overprepared to deal with whatever incursions onto their land foreigners try to make in pursuit of their valuable metallic natural resources.But with Wakanda now openly existing as a powerful political actor on the world stage, Ramonda, as its sitting leader, has to be particularly judicious about how the nation engages with its peers, not out of fear for her people but out of a desire to keep disputes from escalating to the point of all-out conflict.

Wakanda Forever never lets you forget that Wakanda is in a nationwide state of grieving

Geopolitics is rarely what people show up to superhero movies for, but it’s the subject of some of Wakanda Forever’s most electrifying scenes that Bassett commands with a terrifying majesty and a significant part of what makes the movie vibrate with tension. Their presence is also one of the big ways that the movie organically creates space for characters like Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and M’Baku (Winston Duke) to take on larger roles as Wakanda’s various tribes grapple with what it means for there to be no sitting Black Panther.

One of the more truly impressive things about Wakanda Forever’s story is how its plot involving lines of succession and tradition in the context of mourning could have made for a gripping, compelling Marvel movie in and of itself. But instead of resting on those laurels, Wakanda Forever both amps things up and hearkens back to some of Black Panther’s most potent, challenging ideas by introducingthe MCU’s takes on Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) and Namor (Tenoch Huerta).

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a breathtaking and cathartic step forward for the franchise (3)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a breathtaking and cathartic step forward for the franchise (4)

In the same way that Killmonger’s villainy in Black Panther was shot through with a heartbreaking and genuine (albeit twisted) sense of justice, Namor’s entire character is defined by an unshakable love for his people and a willingness to do anything to protect them. Wakanda Forever establishes a fascinating connection between Wakanda and Talocan — the Mesoamerica-inspired underwater kingdom Namor and his fellow water breathers call home — that further upends the world’s balance of power in ways that make Namor a threat. But who that threat is truly posed toward is a question Wakanda Forever repeatedly poses and has different answers for as Namor and his generals, Namora (Mabel Cadena) and Attuma (Alex Livinalli), lead the charge to make contact with the surface world.

There’s a pointed critique of Western colonialism and the destruction of Indigenous people baked into the essence of Wakanda Forever’s take on Namor and Talocan that is going to draw many comparisons to Killmonger. But whereas Michael B. Jordan played his villain as a wrathful man longing to become king, Huerta’s Namor is a king who sees his superhuman genetic gifts as signs of godhood.

There’s a critique of Western colonialism and the destruction of Indigenous people baked into Wakanda Forever

Huerta brings a raw magnetism to his performance as a Namor who’s always just as ready to charm as he is to murder while sizing up other monarchs he deems worthy of his recognition and presence. In particular, scenes between Namor and Shuri stand out not for their visually dazzling qualities but because of the crackling intensity of the current running between them — two conflicted figureheads of state trying to be strategic about how they interact.

Wakanda Forever lets loose a similarly explosive energy in each of its bombastic, breathtaking set pieces that escalate in scale and stakes as Wakanda and Talocan come to butt heads in unexpected ways. But even though the movie’s action sequences are a marked upgrade over the first film’s, they ultimately end up playing second string to Wakanda Forever’s focus on the Wakandan royal family’s emotions — and the room it gives its cast to express what very much feels like their own unscripted sorrow for Boseman’s passing.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a breathtaking and cathartic step forward for the franchise (5)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a breathtaking and cathartic step forward for the franchise (6)

Tragic deaths that unmoor people from their sense of self are a fixture in comic books and the stories based on them. But it’s rare that you see a film choose to really spend time centering grief the way Wakanda Forever does: as an ongoing state of being that can take on new and surprising forms as people try to deal with their feelings. Wakanda Forever isn’t just two-and-a-half hours of people being sad and expressing their frustrations with how the life of someone they loved came to an end. That, along with a deep sense of clear-eyed hope for the future, is the core of the movie, and Wakanda Forever understands how holding space for both of those feelings simultaneously is key to its story being a cathartic one.

As wooly and uneven as Marvel’s Phase Four has often felt between its entry to the streaming space and its dalliances with the multiverse, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s a thrilling reminder of how sharp and smart the studio’s tentpole features can be. Rather than one-upping Black Panther, Wakanda Forever continues its story with a grace and care that’s more moving than any comic book movie has the right to be.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also stars Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel, Martin Freeman, and Lake Bell. The movie hits theaters on November 11th.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a breathtaking and cathartic step forward for the franchise (2024)

FAQs

What is the moral of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? ›

In the film, the characters are faced with losing someone that they care about deeply. From this, we can learn that loss is a part of life and there are many ways to cope with it.

What is the powerful quote from Black Panther? ›

1 "Wakanda forever!"

A now-famous battle cry that echoed in the cinema halls and became the unsaid slogan of the movie, this Black Panther quote captures the essence of the battles they fought and people's love for their country.

What was the purpose of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? ›

In the film, the leaders of Wakanda fight to protect their nation in the wake of King T'Challa's death. Ideas for a sequel began after the release of Black Panther in February 2018.

Why is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sad? ›

One possibility that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reminds us of? The role of collective mourning in our communities and the presence of loved ones when we need them the most. We watch Wakanda mourn T'challa together at the start of the film. We cry with them as they come together.

What was the main message of Black Panther? ›

It's a movie about what it means to be black in both America and Africa—and, more broadly, in the world. Rather than dodge complicated themes about race and identity, the film grapples head-on with the issues affecting modern-day black life.

Why was Black Panther so inspiring? ›

Marvel's newest superhero film, Black Panther, is 'super' for more than just its heroes. The movie takes a progressive stance on the representation of people of color in film, giving black people the screen time they so desperately need and giving voice to the beauty and strength of black culture.

What did Killmonger say before he died? ›

At the film's end, Killmonger is defeated, having temporarily overthrown T'Challa, and utters the final words: “Bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew death was better than bondage.” According to Coogler, this line was the result of Boseman's input.

What was the Black Panther motto? ›

Newton founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland, California, in 1966; the group later shortened its name to the Black Panther Party. The two men adopted Malcolm X's slogan “Freedom by any means necessary.” The Black Panthers also drew inspiration from Stokely Carmichael, a Black nationalist leader.

Why Wakanda is so special? ›

Portrayed as thriving, technologically advanced innovators, without the need for foreign aid or white saviors, Wakanda showed Africans as victorious, dignified, and self-sufficient.

What is the theme of Wakanda Forever? ›

One week into it's worldwide release, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has spawned a multiverse of conversations surrounding grief, fate, honor and duty — all themes that add new texture to viewers' understanding of both the singular hero's journey and the multiplied power of community.

Is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever a tribute? ›

Blank Panther: Wakanda Forever is the sequel to the original Black Panther. This movie was dedicated to Chadwick Boseman after his sudden death due to colon cancer in 2020.

Why do people like Wakanda Forever? ›

Is there anything more to love besides Angela Bassett's acting, Namor's character, and the costume design? For me, it's one of my personal favorite Marvel movies because of it's emotional gravitas. It's something that I don't see much in the superhero genre. I viewed the movie more as a drama than a superhero movie.

Was Wakanda Forever disappointing? ›

Overly long and drowning in far too much slow and somber exposition. This movie was over-rated by critics because of what was happening in real life. Music and costume design were excellent but wasted on something that is truly boring at its core.

What killed Black Panther in Wakanda Forever? ›

T'Challa dies in the first scene from an "undisclosed illness." "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" opens with a chaotic scene in which Shuri (Letitia Wright) is trying to recreate the heart-shaped herb seen in the first movie in order to save her brother T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman).

What is the meaning of the end of Wakanda Forever? ›

The Legacy of the Black Panther Lives On

By the conclusion of Wakanda Forever, Shuri becomes the new Black Panther. Although Queen Ramonda is killed by Namor, the ending of the film also reveals that T'Challa's legacy continues through a previously unknown son.

What is the main plot of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? ›

Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M'Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect the kingdom of Wakanda from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death.

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