Disney/Marvel Studios unveiled Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Wednesday evening at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. And while many folks have been relatively disappointed with what the MCU has offered as of late in wrapping up Phase 4 (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law), the fan reactions emerging online for the upcoming sequel are overwhelmingly positive. So much so that trying to shed a tear became the most impossible task.
Anticipation for the MCU sequel has been astronomically high since its predecessor blew audiences away with its superior storytelling and excellent cultural and political themes regarding the African American race. It earned $700 million domestically and $1.3 billion worldwide and became the first superhero picture nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The sequel pits the nation of Wakanda against invading forces in the wake of King T’Challa’s death, and the threat looms from the undersea country of Talokan. It stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Dominique Thorne, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, and Angela Bassett. The late Chadwick Boseman, who starred as T’Challa/Black Panther in four MCU titles, sadly passed away in 2020 from a private colon cancer battle. Director Ryan Coogler admitted he almost wanted to quit the movie after Boseman’s passing but believed it made more sense to keep on going. Coogler also stated, “we poured everything into this movie…and we honored him [Boseman] by committing ourselves to the story that he started…”
Reactions have dropped online, and we, ATM, implore you to check them out. (One example below, courtesy of Brian David from The Hollywood Reporter.)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever drops in theaters on November 11th.
Black Panther: #WakandaForever is Marvel's most poignant and powerful film to date. It's heavy and dark in the way that it needed to be, and mostly abandons the studio's trademark tone. The craft work levels up in every conceivable way, and the performances rise to the occasion. pic.twitter.com/aAK7jjRMra
— Brian Davids (@PickYourBrian) October 27, 2022
