Producer Nate Moore revealed that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was conceived as a potential title for a third movie starring the superhero.
In an interview with Collider, Moore shared that there were hundreds of alternative titles the Black Panther sequel could have taken. Yet, the crew ended up choosing Wakanda Forever due to the film's themes of overcoming obstacles and having the determination to tackle immense challenges. "You're like, 'Kingdom of the Deep?' You're like, 'Does it have to be about Namor?,'" he explained, using a hypothetical, Namor-themed title. "Then we realized that Wakanda Forever felt right, because it's a story about triumph through adversity. It's a story about legacy, it's a story about persistence, and Wakanda Forever says all those things."
The Meaning of Wakanda Forever
The producer then went on to say that he originally thought Wakanda Forever would be the perfect name for a third Black Panther film since it sounds so definitive. However, eventually came around after realizing how well it fit with the plot of the second movie. "Initially, I will say this, at one point it was like, 'Oh, that feels like the title of the third movie. Where do you go from Wakanda Forever? That feels like it's the end,'" Moore said. "But no, actually it felt really appropriate thematically to the story we were trying to tell."
Whether a third Black Panther film will ever be made is still up in the air. When asked whether he saw a Black Panther 3 happening in the next three to four years, Moore stated he and director Ryan Coogler will gauge how fans respond to Wakanda Forever before deciding whether to go forward with a third movie. Auspiciously enough, the team has already brainstormed a few ideas for the story. "We really want to see how audiences receive the film, and I think Ryan's really interested to see how the film plays before we decide," he explained. "There are certainly ideas we've floated around of what a third film could be if we get to make it. But until the movie comes out, we're a bit superstitious in that way. We don't want to count our chickens, because you never know what's going to happen."
Marking the final film of Phase Four of the MCU, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever revolves around Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), M'Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje as they band together to protect Wakanda after the loss of King T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman). Trouble is afoot, however, when an underwater danger threatens to topple over the kingdom and everything the Wakandans have worked so hard to build.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently playing in theaters.
Source: Collider