Disney has revealed the first footage from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at CinemaCon 2022.
According to Screen Rant, who attended the event, the clip was part of a sizzle reel to promote Disney's upcoming slate of films and more. The brief footage showed Shuri, Okoye and Nakia united in battle and facing down an unknown threat. Seeing as Namor the Sub-Mariner is reportedly the film's main villain, he and his allies may be the threat in question. While it's been widely rumored that Shuri, T'Challa's sister, will don the Black Panther suit in the film, she is not wearing it in the clip.
All three characters featured in the clip were first introduced in 2018's Black Panther. Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, is the genius younger sister of the late Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa/Black Panther. Danai Gurira plays Okoye, a fierce warrior and General of Wakanda's formidable Dora Milaje. Shuri and Okoye also appeared in Avengers: Infinity War and returned in Avengers: Endgame for the climactic film's epic final battle. Marvel Cinematic Universe fans haven't seen Wakandan intelligence agent Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) since Black Panther, though she was originally planned to join Earth's forces against Thanos in Endgame.
Production on Wakanda Forever has been fraught with issues -- filming began in June 2021 and has not yet wrapped. Most recently, production paused in January due to Nyong'o and several other cast and crew members testing positive for COVID-19. Earlier, filming stopped in November 2021 for two months after Wright sustained an on-set injury. Most controversially, Wright was embroiled in criticism surrounding her beliefs about COVID-19 vaccination. Her unvaccinated status was reportedly a concern following new U.S. rules for non-citizen travelers, but filming resumed post-injury without issue. The film was originally set for a May 6 release but was delayed to November, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness taking over the May date.
Other returning MCU characters include Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi, Winston Duke as M'Baku and Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Queen Mother of Wakanda. Newcomer Dominique Thorne is set to star as Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, a notable character from the Marvel comics who builds a suit of armor rivaling that of Tony Stark/Iron Man.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever leaps into cinemas Nov. 11.
Source: Screen Rant