With “Black Panther”, Marvel Studios achieved one of their biggest hits in 2018. The blockbuster about the African king and superhero T’Challa with a predominantly black cast not only hit the box office but also received three Oscars. and is considered a milestone in black pop culture.
Lead actor Chadwick Boseman died of cancer just two years later. Human loss aside, this presented the creators with a serious challenge to continue the series without the star himself.
A touching goodbye
“It was difficult, there were a lot of doubts that we should continue,” said screenwriter and director Ryan Coogler of the German news agency in London. The fact that Boseman kept making films despite cancer, which he kept to himself until the end, was an incentive. “Chadwick was a great leader who set an example. We looked at his tenacity, his strength and how he prioritized work. “
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is all about the deceased. So even in the Marvel intro, which is usually a collage of numerous superheroes, only Boseman’s T’Challa can be seen. In the film, too, he succumbed to an (unspecified) disease. His mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), and her sister, Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright), are struggling to come to terms with their loss. During a farewell ritual in the fictional African country of Wakanda, the two receive an unexpected visit.
Dominique Thorne as an intelligent scientist
Also known as K’uk’ulkan, the mighty Namor (Tenoch Huerta) is the ruler of a world-unknown underwater kingdom called Talocan, which possesses Vibranium. Until now, Wakanda was considered the only country with nearly indestructible metal resources. But special teams from other world powers are already looking for vibranium deposits on the seabed. Namor asks Ramonda and Shuri that Wakanda ally with Talocan against the rest of the world, otherwise he threatens the destruction of Wakanda.
General Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Princess Shuri travel to the United States in search of a very talented young scientist, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), who has developed a technology to detect vibranium and is now in grave danger. Shortly after the first meeting with Riri, there is a confrontation with the CIA and the mighty Talocan.
Marvel fans know Riri from comics as Iron Heart. In 2023, Thorne will launch his TV series on the Disney + streaming service. However, Coogler makes it clear that this is not why she appears in the film. “He has nothing to do with this,” stressed the 36-year-old. “We thought it would make sense to have another character who presented the (African American) culture and perspective. And we thought it would be interesting if she was a scientist.”
A modern Atlantis called Talocan
The 30th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) takes a long time to break away from its hero and emancipate itself. Before “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” begins and offers the usual Marvel show, the film pays homage to Boseman with scenes of mourning and farewell ceremonies. It is appropriate. The end of the film is truly touching and touching.
The long scenes in Shuri’s workshop, where he develops new clothes and searches for the “Black Panther” formula, while the chart-winning songs on the sterling score album, are boring. Given the 161-minute run time, it could have been tighter.
Due to the tragic circumstances, Coogler had to design the sequel as an origin story after the first “Black Panther” movie. For being a kind of transition film for future Black Panther stories, Wakanda Forever works very well. And when the climax is reached after two hours, a gripping finale awaits you with a few surprises.
The comedy show looks good and sounds good thanks to epic film music from the genius of Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson. With modern day Atlantis called Talocan, the film opens up an exciting new world in the MCU. There is something repetitive about combat scenes in Marvel movies and series. Thanks to the Talocan, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” offers a change from this routine, because a lot takes place in, on and with the water. Computer generated whales are particularly spectacular from a visual point of view.
Ryan Coogler made a virtue of necessity. After the loss of Boseman, the strong women of Wakanda from the first film come to the fore. Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong’o as T’Challa’s surviving lover Nakia shine in their roles and ensure that the “Black Panther” saga has a promising future even after the death of Chadwick Boseman. , without a king T ‘Challa, but not without a Black Panther of course.
