In the Black Panther
Reality often and willingly merges with fiction and in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever this inevitably happens in an even more intertwined way. The untimely and sudden death of actor Chadwick Boseman in 2020 deprived the saga linked to the fictional African state of Marvel of his fundamental character, King T'Challa. Inevitably, his disappearance is also addressed in this second chapter, also directed by Ryan Cogler, but in the new trailer released in the past few hours we finally have the opportunity to see the new Black Panther: it is a female figure, who makes a landing in the last moments of the clip sporting a brand new costume. Everything suggests that it is Shuri (Letitia Wright) even if it is not yet official that it is really the sister of T'Challa to succeed him: all the definitive information, at the moment, are kept on the vague.Content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Certainly a central role in the film, as we can see, will have the queen mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett) who, while in Wakanda funeral honors are held for the deceased king, he must protect the country from enemies ready to take advantage of its lowered defenses. In particular, from the depths of the oceans comes the threat of Namor, the "feathered serpent god" played by Tenoch Huerta, who wants to conquer the mainland from his underwater kingdom. Created by Bill Everett in 1939, Namor, king of Atlantis (in the film instead of the kingdom of Talokan), is one of the most complex anti-heroes in the Marvel world, often challenging heroes such as the Fantastic 4 but then ending up collaborating with various teams such as the Defenders , the Avengers and the Illuminati. The depiction of him in the film shows him as very faithful to his appearance of him in the comics, complete with wings on his feet that allow him to fly.
It is not the only novelty of the film, since even in these sequences we see the debut of Ironheart, or a girl named Riri Williams (played by Dominique Thorne) who uses her brilliant mind to reproduce a armor very similar to that of Iron Man. Other old acquaintances of this saga will return, such as Okoye (Danai Gurira), the leader of the warriors Dora Milaje; War Dog spy and T'Challa's love, Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and CIA agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), while also debuting Aneka, the new character played by Michaela Coel, known for her roles in Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will arrive in Italian cinemas starting next November 9.
Some 'Wakanda Forever' Fans Furious New Black Panther Might Be Shuri
Black Panther fans have once again called for Chadwick Boseman to be replaced in any upcoming Marvel properties that feature the popular character.
The hashtag #RecastTchalla started trending on Twitter after Marvel dropped the latest trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the follow-up to the 2018 film which saw Boseman play the titular character.
The actor starred as T'Challa in the blockbuster, and he quickly became synonymous with the Black Panther character, but Marvel chose not to recast him in the sequel after Boseman died of colon cancer in 2020.
In the new trailer released on Monday, it confirmed T'Challa's death with a funeral procession and then the final shots teased T'Challa's sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), taking on the Black Panther identity.
Letitia Wright (L) attends the European premiere of 'Black Panther' on February 8, 2018 in London. Chadwick Boseman attends the world premiere of Black Panther, on January 29, 2018, in Hollywood. Some fans are angry Wright's character Shuri might be the new Black Panther AFP/Karwai Tang/Valerie MaconSince his death, Marvel fans were concerned the studio planned to kill off T'Challa in Wakanda Forever in what the studio argued was a gesture meant to honor Boseman, but some fans have always disputed the decision.
Campaigns to recast the character have been around for years, but fans' demands resurfaced after the second trailer for Wakanda Forever was released.
One becomes a Black Panther in the Marvel films—and chieftain of the nation of Wakanda—only after the previous Black Panther dies, in T'Challa's case he replaced his father, T'Chaka, who was killed in Captain America: Civil War.
The Black Panther hopeful does not automatically get the title and has to battle some of Wakanda's most fierce warriors and then have the Heart-Shaped Herb applied to their body.
If they survive these trials, they are deemed fit to become the Black Panther.
While some fans are lamenting the loss of T'Challa as the Black Panther following Boseman's death, there is plenty of precedent in Marvel comic lore for Shuri to become the Black Panther.
'Shuri spent much of her life living in the shadows of men,' according to Marvel.
'However, after working to stop an invasion of Wakanda and helping her brother recover after Doctor Doom nearly killed him, Shuri stepped into the spotlight and became the Black Panther herself.'
In the comics, T'Challa even lets Shuri remain the Black Panther until he recovers from his injuries.
But this precedence does not seem to be enough for fans who lamented the loss of T'Challa and suggested a number of actors to replace Boseman, including John Boyega (Star Wars) or John David Washington.
'This movie has zero appeal for me. Erasing the main character from his own franchise is one of the most egregious things you can do. Profiting off of the Death of a real-life person is even worse,' wrote ZentaroMiura.
But Twitter user Digitalslop was one of many to argue the backlash was rooted in sexism.
'The #RecastTChalla discourse is rooted in misogynoir. Shuri is the Black Panther and T'challa is dead. Argue with ya mammy,' they wrote.
Other fans were clear they supported Shuri, but T'Challa needed to make a return because of his cultural legacy.
'I/we wish for them to thrive. We just ask that the single most important Black superhero remains in the MCU. He was the first black marvel superhero hero created in 1966,' wrote Time17Prime.
Some fans even argued that having two Black Panther stories told on film would have an invaluable impact.
'I love Shuri. We can have two Black Panthers just like in the comics! How powerful will that be? Strong Black brother strong Black sister Protecting they lands,' wrote johnnyrasta420.
Movie critic Emmanuel Noisette has spearheaded the 'Recast T'Challa' campaign and even launched a Change.org petition aimed at Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige.
The petition has 68,000 signatures at the time of writing and argues that if Marvel removed T'Challa it 'would be at the expense of the audiences (especially Black boys and men) who saw themselves in him.'
Noisette's petition clearly states the campaign is not calling for an immediate recast of T'Challa, nor is it about preventing another character from becoming Black Panther. It is instead 'asking for the portrayal of T'Challa to be allowed to continue in the MCU [Marvel Cinematic Universe].'
Marvel Studios president Feige explained last week why they chose not to recast T'Challa for Wakanda Forever.
'It just felt like it was much too soon to recast,' Feige told Empire magazine.
'Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window.
'And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there's a relatable and human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And Ryan [Coogler, the film's director] poured that into the story.'
Wakanda Forever sees many of the major characters return including Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), M'Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira), War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman).
They join forces to fight to protect Wakanda from intervening world powers in the aftermath of T'Challa's death.
The new film also introduces Tenoch Huerta as Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, and also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli.