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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Adam Lenhardt

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Title: Black Panther II

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Director: Ryan Coogler

Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong'o, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Martin Freeman

Release: 2022-05-06

Plot: The sequel to Black Panther (2018).
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Today at the D23 Expo, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced that Black Panther 2 will be released in theaters on May 6, 2022. Feige also announced that director Ryan Coogler, who directed the critically acclaimed award-winning film Marvel Studios' "Black Panther", will return to direct the sequel.
 

Jake Lipson

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Of course, the trades already scooped that Coogler would return back when Ta'Challa was "dead" after Infinity War.

But it's good that he is, and nice to know the release date. It's also not surprising at all that they have upgraded it to the May release slot, which is usually reserved for what they think will be their biggest movie of the year, rather than the February slot the last movie received.

On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how this impacts the film's box office performance; in addition to the fact that it was sensational, part of the reason the first film was able to play and play and play for so long is because there wasn't very much else in terms of big movies on the schedule between its release in February and the release of Infinity War in the end of April. Because the second one is being placed in May, it will almost certainly contend with a much more stacked slate of summer blockbuster hopefuls.

Some people had guessed that Guardians 3 would go in May 2022, but since Black Panther is there now, I expect that Guardians will end up in May 2023 (which, coincidentally, should roughly sync up with its timeline because it will obviously take place post-Endgame.) A 2023 slot for it might seem like a long way away, but would probably be the cleanest allow James Gunn to complete his obligations to Suicide Squad before starting Guardians.
 

holtge

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Now that Black Panther 2 has taken that May 6, 2022 slot, I wonder what Marvel is planning for the February and July 2022 slots. Maybe Blade in February and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, in July? What a great time to be a Marvel fan!
 

Sam Favate

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Right, I can see Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 coming out in July, 2022. I think waiting until 2023 is too long.

I hope Guardians will get the July slot, but if James Gunn is taking another pass at the screenplay (as his brother Sean suggested recently), it might take until 2023, which would be a very long 6 years between Vol. 2 and 3.
 

Jake Lipson

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6 years between Vol. 2 and 3.

Technically, yes, but the Guardians were so central to Infinity War and Endgame that it will only be four years since we've seen them last. Plus, since Thor is now coming out first, they could end up appearing in that movie in the meantime, which would be only a two-year gap since Endgame.

As much as I love the Guardians, I'd rather have Gunn take his time and get it in 2023 than rush it for 2022, if those are the options. It seems like a long wait now, but once it's out, no one will care how long it took. We'll care if it's good, and if they need until 2023 to make it the best version of itself, that's fine by me.

Similarly, I appreciate Coogler taking his time on Black Panther because the first one set such a high bar and they have a lot to live up to with the sequel. It had to be tempting for Marvel to slate it for 2021, but I'm glad they're not doing that.
 

Jake Lipson

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Obviously not at all important in light of a life cut short far tosoon, but they're almost certainly going to have throw out their plans for the sequel and start over from scratch.

I've already seen some people on Twitter saying that they shouldn't do a sequel without Boseman. As painful as the idea of not having him part of it is, I disagree with that. I do think the should find a way to continue because the series provides an enormous opportunity for representation and positive storytelling that goes beyond Boseman. Obviously I can't speak for him, but considering how aware he was of the importance of that movie to people, I suspect that he would be disappointed if his death caused those other characters to never be seen on screen again. Obviously, Boseman's passing is much more significant right now than what will happen to the franchise. But because he clearly cared about it so much, I don't think it's disrespectful to him to wonder about how it will proceed. I think not revisiting those other characters and that amazing world would be more disrespectful to his work than anything else.

As far as.I can tell, they have a few choices:

1) Recast it with another actor and just go with the "Don't think about it" approach. This worked out fine when the people being replaced were Terrance Howard and Edward Norton. However, obviously Boseman made a much more significant impact in his role than either of them did. He also held the role longer, since both of them were let go before their character's second appearance and Boseman was in four films. So that will make it much more challenging for an audience to accept someone new in the role, no matter how good the second actor might be. The sole advantage to this method would be that Coogler would be able to continue the narrative in the same way as he was originally planning. But whether that is of interest to him without Boseman is in serious question.

2) Since the Black Panther is a title/mantle to be passed, they could kill T'Challa in continuity and pass the titular role to another character, such as Shuri. It obviously wouldn't be the Black Panther II that they were originally imagining, but it would be a Black Panther II. The biggest problem with this method would be that T'Challa already fake died in the first Black Panther, actually died in Infinity War and was resurrected in Endgame. So, having him die again might be a bit much. Since the multiverse is coming to the MCU, I suppose it's possible that they could enter a universe in which T'Challa remained dead, but if that were the case it would limit the future ability to use the remaining Wakanda characters in crossovers.

3) Don't do a so-called "Black Panther II" at all, but do something else within the Wakanda side of the MCU, rejiggered to be more of a spinoff than a straight-up sequel. I have no idea what this would be, but it could be a way of continuing to tell those stories in a manner that is not as explicitly tied to the first film and T'Challa's character.

In any case, it would not surprise me at all if the film is delayed from its current release date while they figure this out. I do not envy Ryan Coogler the job of having to solve this enormously depressing problem. Boseman seemed poised to have the same kind of iconic extended run with that character that Robert Downy, Jr. had with Iron Man, and it is a great shame he won't be able to do that now.
 
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Sean Bryan

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Unless/until there are reports of Chadwick’s feelings on the matter, we can’t know for certain what his wishes would be, and one can only guess his thoughts on the matter. But while this was an unexpected shock to the world at large, Chadwick was aware of his situation for years.

Cancer can be quick, as it was with my dear friend Elizabeth Tokarcsik last year who went from her wedding day on June 8th to her diagnosis on June 10th to her passing on July 5th. But more typically, someone’s passing from cancer isn’t a surprise situation and is a possibility that someone is struggling against for months, if not years.

At this point I can only guess, but based on the reports of how long he has been fighting this I would imagine that Chadwick was aware of the possibility of his passing for some time and that he had thoughts about what it would mean for the character he helped bring to the world and what he would want for the future of that character. I imagine that playing the role of the Black Panther held a particular significance for him and that he discussed his thoughts on the matter with Kevin as things turned south.

I would like to think that he felt similar to how Andy Whitfield felt about the Spartacus role when he was fighting cancer. I’d like to think that his love and respect for the character lead to his wishes that the character continue on with another actor. I can’t for a moment image that Chadwick would be the sort to have the type of ego that would lead him to feel that he was more important than the character he was playing. I’d imagine it would be the exact opposite of that.

There’s all sorts of things they can theoretically do story wise, but I feel the best way to honor his memory would be to cast another great actor who is passionate about the role and to continue the character’s journey. I couldn’t in a million years think that Chadwick would prefer that the character be written out of the Marvel narrative because of his passing. On the contrary, I would imagine he would want T’Challa to live on in his memory.
 

Jake Lipson

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It also depends on what Ryan Coogler wants to do, and whether he is interested in making a movie about T'Challa without Boseman being in it. Does the rest of the cast want to come back and play opposite another actor in that role?

I am sure that one way or another, there will be another Wakanda-based film, but I just don't know at this point whether it should be with that character or not.

If Coogler wants to recast it, I'm fine with that. If he wants to pass it to another character, I'm fine with that. If he wants to just do something that's more of a spinoff, I'm fine with that. I am still willing to watch whatever film he wants to make with this.

The other thing is that T’Challa literally came back from the dead in his most recent appearance. I think this indicates that they expected Boseman to appear in Black Panther II at the time Endgame was shot. It makes absolutely no narrative sense to bring him back to life for about, what, ten minutes of screen time in the climax of Endgame, if they were just going to kill him again. Although it would not have been satisfying for the fans, they could have worked out some way for him to stay dead if the character was not expected to return.
 
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Ejanss

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OTOH, they could just forget the whole thing--
Looking at the slate of future MCU movies, it's more and more clear that Endgame was THE end, and the more they try to create flimsier and flimsier ideas for that mythical "Phase IV" they promised, while kissing up to that "female audience" they thought they had when Captain Marvel was still in theaters, the ship's lost its compass.
All they have left is a few past-prime Monday-morning sequels (which didn't really work out for Thor, Ant-Man or Iron Man), a "Shang-Chi" which, like Disney's kissup, is likely never to play Beijing theaters, that "Eternals" thing that was supposed to compete with Fox's X-Men back when Disney was competing with Fox, a few above-mentioned MCU-PMS ideas, and a last-ditch attempt to mix Disney+'s "WandaVision" with Dr. Strange 2 to create a "Multiverse" to reboot the entire franchise.

Basically, we knew that the Avengers fighting Thanos was as destined as Harry fighting Voldemort, and what we don't need now is Marvel's Fantastic Beasts.
I just hope we don't lose another cast member to emphasize the point. :(
 

Jake Lipson

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OTOH, they could just forget the whole thing--

Absolutely not. Whether or not T’Challa is in it, there will absolutely be some sort of follow-up to Black Panther. What form that will take is obviously in flux right now as far as the public knows. However, the first film represented an extraordinary moment of cultural inclusiveness on screen, and it is absolutely vital that that continue. A lot of films are just fun entertainment, and that's fine. I love fun entertainment. Black Panther certainly is that, too, but it reached a higher level. Its existence did some good in the world. It made an underrepresented group feel seen and inspired. That should absolutely continue. I don't want to get into politics because this is not the place for that, but given the current state of the world, representation feels even more vital today than before.

I just hope we don't lose another cast member to emphasize the point.

Knock on wood. That being said, losing another member of the MCU cast or crew would not emphasize anything. It would just be a tragic, senseless loss, just as is this one. I find it unfortunate that you would imply otherwise.

If you are suggesting that Disney put the kibosh on the entire MCU, that is equally as crazy. Collectively, it is the most valuable franchise in the world right now. Of course they are going to continue. No one else appears to want them to stop. They're in a reinventing phase, but that doesn't mean there aren't more stories. Harry Potter was originally designed as a seven-book close-ended series that ended up getting expanded because Warner Bros. wanted more movies. In contrast, Marvel has several decades worth of comics to mine for story. There are more than 23 good films in decades of work. Plus, they have been so successful that can basically make whatever they want at this point, except maybe another standalone Hulk movie. Why would they stop?
 

Sam Favate

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It’s way too soon to be speculating on what comes next. It seems like Kevin Feige and the others at Marvel are legitimately grieving their friend.

The first film made a billion dollars and is a cultural touchstone. There is no way it doesn’t get a sequel. But I don’t see Boseman being replaced, and I agree he should not be.
 

Jeffrey D

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It’s way too soon to be speculating on what comes next. It seems like Kevin Feige and the others at Marvel are legitimately grieving their friend.

The first film made a billion dollars and is a cultural touchstone. There is no way it doesn’t get a sequel. But I don’t see Boseman being replaced, and I agree he should not be.
Yes I think it’s better to not carry his character into the sequel. Develop a new hero, not cast another guy to play the same character.
 

Malcolm R

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At this point I can only guess, but based on the reports of how long he has been fighting this I would imagine that Chadwick was aware of the possibility of his passing for some time and that he had thoughts about what it would mean for the character he helped bring to the world and what he would want for the future of that character. I imagine that playing the role of the Black Panther held a particular significance for him and that he discussed his thoughts on the matter with Kevin as things turned south.
I would think this also. As he came to recognize he wasn't going to beat this, I'd think knowing the importance of the character to the audience that he would have had some sort of discussion with the producers, or possibly left a letter, to make his wishes known for the continuation of the franchise. I highly doubt he'd want the character to be abandoned with his death, and he likely knew that would be suggested by some. Hopefully he gave his blessing and suggestions for a way to move forward though we are unlikely to know this anytime soon, and likely not until they are ready to announce what form such a legacy may take.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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It's helpful that Black Panther has already been established as a mantle that is passed from one warrior to the next, rather than associated with one singular secret identity.

It's not helpful that T'Challa nearly died in Black Panther, actually did die in Infinity War, and was only just resurrected at the end of Endgame. It seems too soon for T'Challa to die again.

My personal gut reaction at this moment in time is that they should rebuild the franchise around Letitia Wright, with Shuri taking on the mantle of Black Panther. It seems to me the only way you can deal with Chadwick Boseman's premature death, and T'Challa's premature death, is to make the Black Panther sequel all about grieving that horrible and unexpected loss. Make the story about Shuri dealing with the loss of her brother, and finding a way to move forward from that. I think audiences will need to go on a similar emotional journey.
 

dpippel

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Shuri was snapped out of existence by Thanos in Infinity War and then brought back by the Hulk's snap in Endgame, along with T'Challa, so it would be hard for her to deal with her brother's "premature death" in another film.
 

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It's helpful that Black Panther has already been established as a mantle that is passed from one warrior to the next, rather than associated with one singular secret identity.

It's not helpful that T'Challa nearly died in Black Panther, actually did die in Infinity War, and was only just resurrected at the end of Endgame. It seems too soon for T'Challa to die again.

My personal gut reaction at this moment in time is that they should rebuild the franchise around Letitia Wright, with Shuri taking on the mantle of Black Panther. It seems to me the only way you can deal with Chadwick Boseman's premature death, and T'Challa's premature death, is to make the Black Panther sequel all about grieving that horrible and unexpected loss. Make the story about Shuri dealing with the loss of her brother, and finding a way to move forward from that. I think audiences will need to go on a similar emotional journey.
That's exactly what they'll do.
 

Jake Lipson

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it would be hard for her to deal with her brother's "premature death" in another film.

Well, it's going to be hard for her to deal with it whether she had survived Infinity War or not. The only way it wouldn't be hard for her to deal with is if they recast the role with another actor. Whether the filmmakers, remaining cast and audience would accept that is another question.

It's going to be hard to conceive of a Black Panther follow-up, whether it is a direct sequel or some kind of reworked spinoff, without Chadwick Boseman in it. He was as brilliant in that role as Robert Downy, Jr. was in Iron Man, the perfect match between an actor and a part, and by rights he should have had a decade-long run with T'Challa, at least. It is very clear that Kevin Feige and Marvel were going to use him as a lynchpin of the next phase of films, as should have been his right.

But they will make something, because what this particular sub-franchise of the MCU represents is altogether too significant to just stop.
 
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