Empire Magazine has followed up yesterday's cover reveal with a new image from Marvel Studios' upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which sees Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and her daughter Shuri (Letitia Wright) preparing to defend against an unseen enemy.
Ryan Coogler's sequel arrives in the wake of the first film's star, Chadwick Boseman, tragically passing away from cancer in 2020, and the director explains how this devastating loss drives the question: "How do you carry on in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds?"
“Unfortunately, that question became more and more relevant. Both for humanity as a whole, but also for the people in our production who were coming back for this one,” says Coogler. “It became super-relevant when we lost our bro.”
The filmmaker also revealed that, prior to Boseman's passing, his original plan for the follow-up was "spiritually very similar."
“Maturity is about being faced with impossible questions, and still making a choice and moving forward. This unique group is more like a band than it is a group of actors, and Chad was our lead singer. So for me, it was like, ‘How do I figure out a song that they can still get up there and sing?’, in light of what we were dealing with.”
Though it's yet to be officially confirmed, Shuri is expected to take up the Black Panther mantle and unite her people against the threat of King Namor and his aquatic army.
Check out the new still at the link below.
In 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.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11.