Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther sequel struggles after the loss of Chadwick Boseman – despite dazzling visual effects and impressive acting from Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright and Lupita Nyong’o, it feels like it’s missing a central character, writes Nicholas Barber.
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| Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be on general release from November 11. Photo: @blackpanther |
Chadwick Boseman was one of Hollywood’s most important actors. As the titular star of Marvel’s Black Panther (2018), he helped to prove, in the face of long-held industry prejudices, that a film with a black superhero and an entirely black cast could be a colossal hit. Both the actor and the character of T’Challa, the king of Wakanda, were hailed as inspiring role models. Tragically, Boseman died of cancer in 2020.
As well as being a heartbreaking loss, his death put Marvel in a horrible position. He was too closely associated with the part of T’Challa for the role to be recast so soon, but how could the studio make another Black Panther film without him? How do you make a Superman film that doesn’t have Superman in it? One answer is to kill off the main character – and that’s what Ryan Coogler, the director and co-writer, does in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. T’Challa dies of an undisclosed illness, off screen, before the opening titles. But as his death can’t help but remind audiences of Boseman’s, that still leaves the question of how a rip-roaring action movie can carry on without being dragged down by grief.
In a way, the whole film is about Wakanda getting over the loss of its beloved king. His regal mother (Angela Bassett) has to convince the rest of the world that her country can stand up for itself without its legendary protector. His tech-genius sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), is too upset to follow Wakanda’s sacred rites and traditions. And his girlfriend Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) has to decide whether she wants a life in Wakanda at all. But Coogler and his co-writer, Joe Robert Cole, dispense with the initial mournful tone within a few scenes. There is a royal funeral sequence that looks like a fabulous street carnival, and then the film jumps to a year later when Wakanda has other problems to contend with.BBC
Watch (@blackpanther): Official Trailer of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ⬇️
