This article contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in theaters now.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever co-screenwriter Joe Robert Cole explained why Queen Ramonda's death was integral to the sequel's story.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Cole, who co-write Wakanda Forever alongside director Ryan Coogler, revealed the reasoning behind the decision to kill Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett). He stated that it all traced back to Shuri (Letitia Wright) and the development the crew wanted her to undergo. Since a large part of the film revolves around the relationship between Shuri and her mother and how the two women come to terms with the death of T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), Cole felt that Queen Ramonda's passing would be a massive drive for the new Black Panther.
"We started to work through that journey of where [Shuri] would be, her anger, her frustration and her pouring herself into her work," Cole explained. "You think back to her point of view on the mystical side of Wakanda, how she's more about science than she is about the ancestors and the ancestral plane. That exploration of her journey and her journey with her mother -- who has lost a son, who has lost her husband, and who is dealing with grief and trying to help Shuri through that grief -- we felt like it would be tremendously impactful to Shuri, and obviously to the nation, for Ramonda to be lost in the flood. How Shuri pivots off of that, and how Wakanda will pivot. From there, it launches M'Baku. It launches our characters in new directions. Which is really wonderful."
Shuri's Emotional Journey in Wakanda Forever
Cole also spoke about how the team went about tackling Shuri's arc throughout the Black Panther sequel and how the character has grown since the 2018 film. "Thinking of who she was in the first film, I’m really proud of how she has evolved and grown as a character. At the beginning of this movie, she’s the smartest person in all of Wakanda and yet she can’t save her brother. How does that affect someone?"
With regards to Ramonda's fate, even Bassett, who first portrayed the Queen of Wakanda in Black Panther, originally objected to her character's death in Wakanda Forever. However, the actor inevitably agreed with Coogler's perspective. "He was like, 'Angela, I know, I know, but look, to die is not really to die in this world. It doesn't really have to mean that,'" she said. Considering that characters who seemingly died in Avengers: Infinity War came back in Endgame, Bassett concluded that Queen Ramonda's fate is not fully sealed. "All kinds of crazy things happen," she said.
Marking the final installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 4, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now in theaters.
Source: Rolling Stone