Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – release date, cast and trailer for Marvel sequel
Marvel Studios returns to Wakanda, but sadly without the late, great Chadwick Boseman.
At long, long last, the digital release date for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is upon us.
The sequel bagged five nominations for the 95th Academy Awards, including Costume Design, Visual Effects, Best Song, and Makeup and Hairstyling, so now is the time to watch it on Disney Plus if you missed the film during its theatrical run.
Wakanda Forever pays emotional tribute to T'Challa actor Chadwick Boseman following his tragic passing in 2020, while also telling a new story that sees the likes of Shuri (Letitia Wright), Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), Okoye (Danai Gurira), M'Baku (Winston Duke) and Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) take on underwater monarch Namor, played by Tenoch Huerta.
Read on to learn more essential details on the much-anticipated blockbuster.
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Black Panther 2 release date
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was released in cinemas on 11th November 2022.
The sequel is now available to watch on Disney Plus following its theatrical run.
The film was previously scheduled for release in May 2022 before being pushed back to July 2022 until it was pushed back once again.
Filming on the sequel began on June 29, 2021, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Black Panther 2 cast
The following cast members are in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
- Letitia Wright as Shuri
- Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia
- Danai Gurira as Okoye
- Winston Duke as M'Baku
- Dominique Thorne as Ironheart/Riri Williams
- Michaela Coel as Aneka
- Tenoch Huerta as Namor
- Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross
- Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda
- Mabel Cadena as Namora
- Alex Livinalli as Attuma
- Isaach de Bankolé as Wakandan River Tribe elder
- Dorothy Steel as Wakandan Merchant Tribe elder
- Danny Sapani as Wakandan Border Tribe elder
Boseman is obviously a huge loss from the cast of the sequel but has not been replaced, nor is he featured through use of archive footage or CGI.
"So much of the comics and that first movie is the world of Wakanda," producer Kevin Feige previously told Deadline. "Wakanda is a place to further explore with characters and different subcultures. This was always and initially the primary focus of the next story.
"We’re not going to have a CG Chadwick and we’re not recasting T’Challa. Ryan Coogler is working very hard right now on the script with all the respect and love and genius that he has, which gives us great solace, so it was always about furthering the mythology and the inspiration of Wakanda."
Lupita Nyong'o returns as T'Challa's love interest and War Dog spy Nakia, while The Walking Dead legend Danai Guriria is back the leader of the Dora Milaje, Okoye.
Elsewhere, Martin Freeman reprises his role from the first film as CIA operative Everett K Ross, as Winston Duke returns as the strong Jabari tribe leader M'Baku.
Finally, T'Challa's family also feature in the form of Angela Bassett as his mother Ramonda and Letitia Wright as his genius younger sister, Shuri.
Elsewhere, I May Destroy You star-writer Michaela Coel joined the cast as Aneka, who in Marvel Comics is a member of the Dora Milaje.
Finally, Dominique Thorne is due to appear as the whip-smart Riri Williams AKA Ironheart. The actress was previously confirmed to be taking on the role for her own Ironheart series on Disney Plus.
In the trailer, Williams can be seen crafting armour and also sharing a warm greeting with Shuri.
Narcos: Mexico star Tenoch Huerta plays Marvel Comics character Namor, the Sub-Mariner, with the film touching on the character's Mayan connections.
Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli appear in the film as Namor's Atlantean allies, Namora and Attuma, respectively.
Finally, one star who will not be reprising his role from the first film is Daniel Kaluuya, who will not be back as W'Kabi despite initial reports.
Jacqueline Coley of Rotten Tomatoes first tweeted that scheduling issues and prior commitment to Get Out director Jordan Peele's new film Nope prevented Kaluuya from returning despite being asked to return.
W'Kabi was the best friend of T'Challa and lover of Okoye, who betrayed his friend to aid Killmonger in his coup d'etat of Wakanda.
Black Panther Wakanda Forever plot
Marvel has confirmed a big time jump will take place for Black Panther: Wakanda forever as part of the fallout from T'Challa's passing.
"Ramonda realizes that it's been a year since T'Challa's passing and Shuri's still not healing — she's not taking steps to move forward in a healthy way," said director and co-writer Coogler in film production notes released to the media. "They take a retreat — stepping away from the city, from the technology — to sit with no distractions and perform what is essentially a grief ritual. That's when Namor shows up."
The official synopsis for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reads: "In Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M'Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), 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 (Lupita Nyong'o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.
"Introducing Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, the film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livanalli."
It's standard practice for Marvel Studios to keep story details about their upcoming Marvel movies tightly under wraps, but that hasn't stopped rampant fan speculation about this much-anticipated blockbuster.
It's confirmed that T'Challa will not appear in the story after a decision was taken not to recast the role, with the plot instead focusing on some of the other characters.
This could mean that, as in the comics, Letitia Wright's Shuri could take on her brother's royal mantle, or it could be another character that takes on the role of Wakanda's defender.
Wright previously told PORTER that she took time to come to terms with Boseman's death and that the idea of reprising her role is "strange".
She said: "We're just still mourning Chad, so it's not something I even want to think about. The thought of doing it [Black Panther] without him is kinda strange.
"We're just grieving at the moment, so it's trying to find the light in the midst of it."
In fact, this is something producers are grappling with too.
"I think we’re going to see the movie in two lenses, pure entertainment but also cathartic," producer Nate Moore told ComicBook's Phase Zero podcast.
He added: "I think this movie has different sort of pressure on it, obviously, with the loss of Chadwick, which was unexpected and unprecedented in a way narratively, to figure out how to deal with".
Talking about how the film marks another milestone for representation, Nyong'o recently told RadioTimes.com: "I think that the world of Wakanda was uniquely poised to allow for this.
"Because in the first film, we establish a Wakanda where women have equity with men, where women have agency and they very much influenced the direction of the plot, and we surrounded T’Challa… and so in the loss of T’Challa, it’s only natural and organic that the women would be the ones most affected and then they'd be the ones that we would follow [in the story]."
She continued: "I love that because it's organic, it's not anything that's forced or put upon, it's very much in the DNA. And what Wakanda shows us is a version of the world where women holding and having power is not remarkable, it's normal.
"And that's the thing to aspire to, to a moment when it's not special that a woman is in charge, that a woman is playing an important pivotal role in society or in a story. I think that's a very healthy thing to envision."
Who is the new Black Panther?
As detailed above, the trailers appear to show a woman donning the Black Panther suit.
While it’s not clear who exactly this is, the logical characters are Shuri (Letitia Wright), Okoye (Danai Gurira) or Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o).
With nothing confirmed as yet, fans will have to wait and see!
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailers
Marvel has released two trailers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The latest arrived on 3rd October 2022, giving us a further glimpse into Wakanda without T'Challa and just how dangerous the threat of Namor and the forces of Atlantis are. It also offers a peek at the new Black Panther, which fans believe to be Shuri due to the design of the mask matching her face paint.
Watch below:
The trailer also shows a glimpse of a scene that was revealed at a D23 panel recently, in which Angela Bassett’s Queen Ramonda arrives at the UN only to be quizzed about vibranium – the special metal unique to Wakanda – and how it can be used as a weapon for mass destruction.
Flashing back to the Queen, she calls the UN liars, saying: "You perform civility here but we know what you whisper in your halls of leadership and in your military facilities. The King is dead. The Black Panther is gone. They have lost the protector.”
The footage then shows the Dora Milaje fighting soldiers at the lab, before defeating them and bringing them to the UN.
The first teaser trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was released during Marvel Studios' epic panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. Watch below:
The trailer is set to Bob Marley and the Wailers' No Woman, No Cry, performed here by Tems, before then being mashed up with Kendrick Lamar's Alright.
Both trailers also give fans a look at Tenoch Huerta as Namor and Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, AKA Ironheart.
Another trailer gave fans a glimpse of the soundtrack – which features the lead single Lift Me Up by Rihanna and was released in full on 4th November 2022.
"Honestly, I think it was Chad," Coogler previously told PA news agency on the red carpet regarding Rihanna working on the soundtrack,
"A lot of improbable things needed to happen for it to come through and Rihanna was very clear that she did that for him."
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