Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens this Thursday

By: Patrick Beech

Following the success of Black Panther which premiered in February 2018, fans have been eagerly waiting for a sequel.

After four years, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be screened starting this Thursday, promising to be very different than the first film.

One glaring difference would be the absence of T'Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer at the age of 43 in August 2020.

The first trailer was unveiled in July 2022 and it was clear that the movie characters would be grieving the death of T'Challa in the sequel.

In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death.

As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.

T'Challa's sister Shuri (Wright) eventually became Black Panther and queen of Wakanda in the comic books, so her journey is certainly a possibility for the sequel's plot.

As for the soundtrack, Rihanna announced "Lift Me Up," her first solo single since 2016, will be featured in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Co-written with Tems, Coogler and composer Ludwig Göransson, the song is a tribute to Boseman.