With the release of the movie's first trailer, there's still a lot of speculation surrounding Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It's clear that King T'Challa will get replaced as the Black Panther, but it's still unclear who will take the mantle. One current rumor is that Killmonger, the villain from the first Black Panther movie, will make a return in some way.
From the way he was buried to the enemies in the film, there seem to be breadcrumbs indicating that Erik Killmonger will be back in the land of the living. Though that idea might excite fans more than others when it comes to replacing T'Challa, it still comes with some problematic elements. These stem from Killmonger's worldview, which likely hasn't changed. And that is a prime reason why bringing him back at all could brutally backfire for the second Black Panther movie.
Is Killmonger Returning In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?
New Rockstars is one of many that suspect Killmonger may be in the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The connective tissue explaining this in their video is the manner in which Erik Killmonger got buried. Put to rest at sea, the would-be ruler of Wakanda would thus be able to be found by the Atlanteans. That would factor into their beef with the Wakandans, as they could see the burial as a desecration of their sacred home. Likewise, they could use the possession of his corpse and hold it over the Wakandans. Having his body as a plot thread would set up for Shuri to enter the Astral Plane and encounter Killmonger, further establishing his potential return to mortality.
Such a theory gets backed up by leaks and rumors about how the plot of Wakanda Forever will transpire, though these rumors don't suggest that Killmonger will come back to life and be the new Black Panther. On the one hand, it would be a more optimal situation than anyone else being the new Black Panther. It's unlikely that T'Challa will be revived and kept as Black Panther via recasting, and while some might suggest that Shuri or even M'Baku take over the role, these ideas have their problems. At the same time, the more marketable Killmonger has his own set of issues, and they might be more damning than some realize.
Killmonger's Potential "Redemption" Could Be Problematic
Making the new Black Panther a revived Killmonger would be great from a marketing perspective, but fans need to remind themselves of who the character was. Though he had an arguable point to his motivation, Killmonger was still an unrepentant villain with an incredibly skewed worldview. Cast in the same mold as Magneto, he's actually far less tragic and relatable than the X-Men foe, the latter of whom was an actual Holocaust survivor. Killmonger was also an even more villainous figure in What If...?, cementing that, throughout the multiverse, he isn't a good guy.
Thus, bringing him back and somehow making him the new Black Panther would be a significant turn, though it wouldn't be an earned or organic one. Exposition could explain that Erik, upon his death, reflected upon his life and worldview in the Astral Plane. Now seeing the error of his ways, he seeks to make amends as the new Black Panther. Such a development, no matter how well acted, would seem rather forced, almost as if the movie is trying to justify what it knows to be a controversial decision. Unfortunately, there really is no good way to deal with the death of Chadwick Boseman and his now iconic character, but replacing him with his chief rival might be the worst way possible.
To see who becomes the new Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters Nov. 11