BLACK PANTHER Was The Most Streamed Comic Book Movie In The U.S. Last Week

Wakanda first!

At first, I thought that they should not replace Boseman’s “T’challa” with another actor, but the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that Boseman would not want that and also that it is unfair to the fans of the character to deny them any more Black Panther stories. I also don’t think that Shuri should replace Black Panther permanently (at least not right now) because I don’t think there has been enough set up for that. After thinking LONG and hard about it, I believe there are creative ways to continue the Black Panther story that is both respectful and forward looking. Here is how I would do it…

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BLACK PANTHER II – (A Pitch)

At the very beginning of Black Panther 2 have a fully dressed Black Panther (with mask hiding his face) on a mission to use the time travel devise we saw in Avengers: End Game to travel back in time to correct a historical incident affected by Thanos. Right after entering the time travel device, one of the generals of Wakanda – Jakarra - seeing an opportunity to get rid of the King sabotages the machine. The device malfunctions and T’Challa is lost in time and never seen again. There is tremendous mourning for the lost King. Over time, strife breaks out among the different tribes and Shuri (Letitia Wright)…



…assumes the mantle of Black Panther and acting queen of Wakanda. She initially maintains a fragile peace, but it is short lived as the tribal leaders insist that they must select another leader at Warrior Falls. There are two problems Shuri faces as queen however, 1) There are no more heart shaped herbs (T’Challa used the last of it in the first Black Panther film) which means that no one has Black Panther’s super human abilities nor can they journey to the ancestral plane for guidance and 2) Killmonger’s message of antagonism toward the outside world took hold in some parts of Wakanda and some are wanting Wakanda to take a more warlike posture - a position held and led by Jakarra (Peter Mensah)…



…a member of the Border Tribe. Shuri begins to have haunting dreams which leads her to go into the “Heart of the Panther” (a chamber inside the mammoth carving that is in the likeness of the Panther God - Bast). She discovers an ancient book which was written by T’Challa from the past. He tells her in the writings that he wound up back in time during the period when Wakanda was first being formed and in fact became the first Black Panther that was recounted in the opening sequence of the first film. T’Challa tells her that he eventually marries has children and successfully rules over the initial development of Wakanda. T’Challa then tells her that because he is in the wrong time it created a time distortion and in a journey to the Ancestral plane, Bast revealed to him that he has been reincarnated back in his own time. He instructs Shuri that she must find his reincarnated self and bring him to the location of where he was laid to rest – a place that was hidden from even Wakandans. Shuri is at first unsure how she can find her reincarnated brother but then focuses on the fact that if he was married with offspring, perhaps has modern day descendants. She then uses a combination of lineage tracing and DNA matching and finds a young Wakandan named Akeem Okonkwo (Trevante Rhodes)…



Upon meeting, Akeem feels as though Shuri is familiar to him. In addition, he tells her of dreaming of a burial place he has never been that lies behind a waterfall. After spending time together, they become close and Shuri becomes convinced this is the real T’Challa reincarnated and tries to convince others but is unsuccessful. Tribal leaders then press for the tournament to crown a new King/Queen. Shuri is compelled to defend the throne and represents the Golden Tribe and defeats successive challenges from the Merchant Tribe and the Mining Tribe. M’Baku also enters the tournament and is handily defeated by Jakarra who fights and wins all the way to the final round. Shuri faces him and is likewise defeated by Jakarra of the Border Tribe. It is unbeknown to the combatants that Jakarra has cheated by secretly ingested a serum blend made through the combination of organic and mineral elements from a variant of Vibranium called NuForm which gives him greater strength and resistance to harm. Seeming as though Jakarra of the Border Tribe will be crowned King, Akeem appeals for the opportunity to enter the tournament at the last minute. At first, Akeem is told he is not allowed to compete because he lacks the proper lineage, but Shuri provides testimony that he is descended from the first “Black Panther”. Assuming that because he is untrained, and Jakarra is still powered by the NuForm potion, that Akeem will be easy to defeat, Jakarra allows him to enter the tournament. Following an intense fight Akeem, although brutally battered, prevails without the use of any ability enhancing elements and he is crowned king and joins with the Golden Tribe. Nakia remains unconvinced that it is T’Challa and believes that he is a fake and should not be King of Wakanda setting up her villainess turn as Malice. Later while talking to tribal elders Akeem again talks about his dream of a burial place that he has never been to before. One of the elders tells him that his description is reminiscent of a poem that they claim has existed since the founding of Wakanda. In the poem it talks about a valley in a very remote part of Wakanda beyond the mountains where the Jabari Tribe lives. Shuri and Akeem journey to the valley that Akeem recognizes the location from his dream….



They find a hidden cave behind a waterfall where T’Challa was laid to rest centuries ago. An elaborate burial site filled with gold sculptures with T’Challa’s (Chad Boseman’s) face, bronze statues celebrating T’Challa as well as a massive carving of T’Challa’s likeness on the cave wall which proves to Shuri that it is in fact her brother. Throughout the cave is an abundance of heart shaped herbs that have been growing wild which can now be harvested and replenish the ones destroyed by Killmonger. At an elaborate ceremony which features many of the Avengers, Akeem is given one of the heart shaped herbs and the Black Panther outfit and takes on the name T’Callah (slightly different spelling from T’Challa) to honor the first Black Panther. Later on as now the new Black Panther, he journeys to the Ancestral plane where a masked T’Challa (or digitally created Boseman) gives the new Black Panther words of wisdom and inspiration and charges him with upholding the Black Panther role and tells him that now that they have been united he (T’Challa) will live on through T’Challah and the people of Wakanda forever! THE END!