Marvel Studios announced the November debut of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever over the weekend, the sequel to 2018’s record-breaking Black Panther.
The announcement came at a panel discussion at this year’s Comic-Con, and was accompanied by a powerful trailer reveal, both a continuance of the Black Panther saga and a powerful tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman.
Discussing the project in front of an emotional audience, Director Ryan Coogler said “I promise you that I can feel his arm on my shoulder right now,” referring to Boseman.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Trailer
The trailer opens with powerful female vocals by Nigerian star Tems, singing a slowed version of “No Woman, No Cry,” that eventually mashes up with Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright.”
In the trailer, the presence and subsequent absence of Boseman’s character, King T’Challa, is heavily felt.
At one point during the 2-minute trailer Angela Bassett’s character and T’Challa’s mother, Romonda, says “I am queen of the most powerful nation in the world, and my entire family is gone. Have I not given everything?”
The full cast was present at the Comic-Con premiere, and the emotions behind the project were felt every time someone spoke.
Danai Gurira, who plays Okoye in Wakanda Forever, told Variety how the entire crew was very understanding of the grief that was felt at different times by everyone.
“You never knew when it was going to be a really hard day…they understood they were in a place where grief was happening,” Guira said.
Many have speculated since the 2020 death of Boseman that T’Challa’s younger sister Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, would take over as the new Black Panther. The trailer doesn’t answer that question, but an emotional Shuri is seen seemingly away from her family in Wakanda.
“I’m really proud of us as a family, the way we came together,” said Wright. “It was tough, it wasn’t easy to come to work each day and be without our leading man, our Chad. But we found joy in moments that we could grab it.”
The movie is set to hit theaters on November 11, and if it’s anything like its billion-dollar predecessor, it will be an instant classic with fans.