20 facts you might not know about 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'

Plans for a “Black Panther” sequel were bandied about early on, but whether or not Coogler would return was not known for sure. Ultimately, Marvel and Coogler negotiated quietly and came to a deal in October of 2018 for Coogler to write and direct the movie, which was not officially announced on the docket until Comic-Con in 2019.

It was announced in November of 2018, just a month after Coogler signed on, that Letitia Wright would return as Shuri. Who else would return, though? Well, early on, a rumor came about from actor Courtney B. Vance. Why? Because he is married to Angela Bassett, who played Queen Ramonda in “Black Panther.” Vance said the main cast of “Black Panther,” including Michael B. Jordan, would all return for the sequel. Kevin Feige quickly quashed those rumors, though, as Coogler was still outlining his script.

Boseman’s battle with colon cancer took the general public totally by surprise, but apparently, just how secret Boseman’s illness went even deeper than that. When Boseman died, Coogler and Marvel were unaware he had been sick. Coogler had been writing his script expecting Boseman to be starring.

In the wake of Boseman’s death, it was announced that the “Black Panther” sequel would be pushed back from a May release to a July release in 2022. Feige also said that Marvel was not going to recast the role of T’Challa or use any visual effects to have Boseman appear in the film. Now the film begins with the death of T’Challa, and the movie is dedicated to the memory of Boseman.

Tenoch Huerta Mejia was cast to play Namor, the antagonist of “Wakanda Forever” and the leader of an undersea civilization. Unsurprisingly, Mejia had to learn the Mayan language for the role. On the other hand, it’s a little surprising that he also had to learn how to swim. That’s notable, given that, you know, Namor is the leader of an underwater kingdom.

Daniel Kaluuya played W’Kabi in the first movie but was one of the few actors unable to return for “Wakanda Forever.” It was due to a scheduling conflict, as Kaluuya was shooting “Nope” at the time, a film where he is the lead.

Coogler said that, thematically, a lot of his script could stay the same. In the original version of the film, T’Challa was going to be dealing with “The Blip,” and losing five years of time, particularly losing time with his son, who presumably would have been more involved in the original movie.

Additionally, in Coogler’s original vision, Namor and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ characters, were both in the film. However, in the earlier version, Val was more involved in the story and featured more in the script.

In the comics, Namor the Submariner is a little more traditional in terms of biography. That includes his home world Atlantis, the famous mythological underwater land. Talokan was created for the film to replace Atlantis.

When the film was announced, it was simply referred to as “Black Panther II.” The subtitle of “Wakanda Forever” had been thought of, but it was being saved for a potential third film. After the death of Boseman, “Wakanda Forever” was decided on for the second movie instead.

Dorothy Steel, who plays one of the Wakandan elders, died during the filming of “Wakanda Forever.” The circumstances here were slightly different, though, compared to Boseman. Steel was 95 when she died, and is an interesting story, having made her acting debut at the age of 88.

Bell has a small role early in the film as CIA official Dr. Graham. This was not her first involvement in the MCU, though. Bell had previously voiced Natasha Romanoff in the animated series “What If…?” on Disney+.

While filming a stunt during shooting in Boston, Wright was injured, so much so she was sent home to London to recuperate. Reportedly, she suffered a broken shoulder and a concussion. The production began shooting scenes while Wright wasn’t needed, though eventually they ran out of those before Wright was able to return. Around this time, the release date was pushed back again, this time to November 11, 2022.

During the middle of the credits, we get a scene of Shuri meeting T’Challa’s child. There is no post-credits scene, which is common for MCU movies. Producer Nate Moore said that the idea of adding another scene after the “poetic” mid-credits scene would have felt “a little disingenuous tonally.”

Queen Ramonda dies during the plot of “Wakanda Forever,” and one person, in particular, was unhappy about that. Namely, Bassett, who plays Queen Ramonda. Coogler was able to provide some reassurance, though, by noting to Bassett that death is not necessarily permanent in the MCU.

“Wakanda Forever” had much to live up to, as “Black Panther” was a true cultural phenomenon. The sequel, though, was a hit, if less of a hit. “Wakanda Forever” made $453.8 million domestically and $858.8 million worldwide. It was the sixth-highest-grossing film worldwide in 2022 but was third domestically.

Bassett earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work as Queen Ramonda, her second-ever nomination. On top of that, it was the first-ever Oscar nomination in an acting category for a movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

On top of Bassett’s nomination, “Wakanda Forever” received four other nominations. The other nods were for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design (its lone win), Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for “Lift Me Up.”

While Boseman is gone, and T’Challa has passed within the MCU as well, there may be another “Black Panther” film. There has been talk that Coogler is discussing to direct a third film in the series, though Wright has said that a break is needed.

The biggest addition to the world of “Black Panther” for this film was arguably Riri Williams, and we have not seen the last of her. Riri has built herself a suit in the vein of the Iron Man suit she uses in the movie, and now she will be starring in the Disney+ series “Ironheart.”