The following contains spoilers for Marvel's Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok.


To the surprise of few, Marvel's debut Black Panther movie has turned out to be a massive success on both a critical and financial level. A sequel is most certainly going to be in the works now if it wasn't already, and it's there where things get interesting. The first film introduced us all to the Afrofuturist nation of Wakanda and dabbled into its politics and culture.

But if there's one area that the film barely scraped the surface of, it's the religion of Wakanda. Sure, there's the Panther Goddess Bast, but she's only one of five Wakandan gods that the eventual sequel can focus on. For his return to the MCU, director Ryan Coogler should shine a light on the other gods of Wakanda -- the Orisha.

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Despite having been introduced more than 50 years ago, the Orisha as a whole didn't really see a true expansion into the Black Panther's mythology until fairly recently. "Orisha" in this case refers to the whole pantheon of Wakandan gods -- not just Bast, but also Kokou, the God of War; Ptah the Shaper, provider of alloys such as Vibranium; Mujaji, god of sustenance; and Thoth, god of the moon and wisdom. The Orisha rose to godhood after helping humanity fight off the Originators, who lived in Wakanda before going to war with humanity.

The gods have appeared separately throughout ancillary pieces of Marvel lore, but their big referral as a pantheon came with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze and Chris Sprouse's currently running Black Panther. Right now, the Orisha play a huge part in the adventures of T'Challa's solo comic, having disappeared and replaced by another apparent god known only as Sefako. With the Orisha absent, mystical portals have been popping up all around Wakanda, releasing monsters who themselves are claiming that the Originators have returned.

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Admittedly, this is a lot to throw at people. But the basics -- namely, the gods of Wakanda and the story of power through faith -- is perfect for T'Challa's next solo film to focus on. Thor: Ragnarok ended with the Asgardian population orbiting the term "endangered species," their home of Asgard having been effectively destroyed, and it's likely that Thanos won't exactly cut them any slack in Infinity War, either. A new mythology is needed for fans to really sink their teeth into, and Wakanda is rich and powerful enough to give fans that mythology. Now that T'Challa has opened up Wakanda to the world, there will obviously be those who want to learn about Wakandan culture through their gods, much as we do in real life. The MCU has history, sure, but it doesn't have history -- something concrete and definitive in the way that fans likely prefer. The Orisha are a way to give that to the fans while also using it to inform current Wakandan culture.

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All things considered, The Orisha would be the first religious mythology that the MCU has really gotten into. The Asgardians have been posited as being aliens humans just happened to believe to be gods, and the closest thing to Satan that Marvel has, Mephisto, has yet to appear in the universe. The MCU is in need of gods, and the Orisha provides an opportunity for that. It certainly wouldn't be easy -- much like with Black Panther's costuming, it would no doubt require many consultants. But given how much careful attention was paid to make sure even a character like Man-Ape wouldn't be an offensive caricature, this is something that whoever helms the sequel could handle with care.

For many viewers, Black Panther is likely the first time that they've really been introduced to afrofuturism, the mix of science fiction and fantasy with African cultures. The first film plays around with the "fantasy" aspect of this via the Ancestral Plane and the ancestors there being represented as actual black panthers, but more can certainly be done on that front. The pantheon of African deities is just as extensive as that of Greek or Norse mythology, and bringing it to the forefront via a big budget superhero film would help normalize this mythology to the same level that we do with the aforementioned Greek or Norse.

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With Thanos' invasion of Wakanda in Infinity War, the seeds for the Orisha could certainly be seeded. In the comics, the Orisha are said to be powered by belief and prayer, and nothing spurs prayer quite like an alien armada touching down on your once invincible city. The battle for Wakanda is going to be a rough one, and even when everything is fixed in the end, there are no doubt going to be many wondering if and why the gods abandoned them during this time of need. With Wakanda also having opened itself up to outsiders, it wouldn't be much of a logical leap for the Wakandans to believe that Thanos' attack on their home was punishment from their gods, the Orisha, for T'Challa breaking free from centuries of tradition.

Black Panther was very clearly set up to the be the new Iron Man of the MCU, but there's no reason that it can't also be the new Thor as well. The world of Wakanda is diverse enough to pull double duty, and the character's status as both a king and a superhero allows for seamless blending of genres. With a new status quo established by its debut film and the upcoming Infinity War, T'Challa's second solo outing is rightfully set up for a religious experience.


Now in theaters, director Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan as N’Jadaka/Erik “Killmonger” Stevens, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Forest Whitaker as Zuri and Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue.