On the heels of the melancholy, and emotionally powerful, teaser trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Studios released the first poster for the sequel.
The image matches the tone of the first footage, with the Black Panther mask set against a dark background. Absent is the film's title or logo, replaced simply with the word "Forever," and the release date: Nov. 11, 2022.
These first looks arrive nearly two years after the death of T'Challa actor Chadwick Boseman. As previously indicated by Shuri actor Letitia Wright, the sequel serves as a tribute to Boseman. "“We committed every day to working hard, no matter what circumstances we faced," she said. "And we faced a lot of circumstances. A lot of difficult situations, but we came together as a team.”
What Is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever About?
The teaser not only officially introduces Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, and offers a glimpse of the new Black Panther, but also -- at long last -- brings Namor, the Sub-Mariner, and Atlantis into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel reclaimed the film rights to the classic antihero as far back as 2016, Namor's MCU debut was complicated by an entanglement of old development projects involving other parties. As rumored, the ruler of Atlantis is portrayed in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever by Narcos: Mexico actor Tenoch Huerta.
In the sequel to 2018's Black Panther, Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M'Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje must fight protect Wakanda from interfering world powers in the aftermath King T'Challa's death. The crisis is presumably a direct result of T'Challa's decision in the original film to reveal Wakanda's true wealth and technology to the global community. Indeed, in the teaser, Angela Bassett's Ramonda delivers a fiery speech, declaring, "I am queen of the most powerful nation in the world, and my entire family is gone! Have I not given everything?"
Black Panther was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won three, for Best Original Score, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. They marked the first Oscars for Marvel Studios.
Announced in February 2021, a Disney+ spinoff series, developed by Black Panther director and co-writer Ryan Coogler, is expected to focus on Danai Gurira's character Okoye.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever stars Bassett and Wright, joined by returning cast members Gurira, Winston Duke as M'Baku, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, and Florence Kasumba as Ayo.