Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a 2022 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Black Panther. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is intended to be the sequel to Black Panther (2018) and the 30th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is being directed by Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole, and stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Tenoch Huerta, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett. In this film, the leaders of Wakanda fight to protect their nation in the wake of King T'Challa's death.
Ideas of the film is been discussion after the first film released, with Coogler talks it as a director. But the film plan is being changed after Chadwick Boseman died in 2020 by colon cancer. The original cast of the film from the first film are been confirmed in November. Principal photography begin initially on November 2021, but the filming is taking a break after Wright allowed to recover from an injury sustained during filming. Filming resumed in January 2022 until its wrapped on March 2022.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiered at the El Capitan Theatre and the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on October 26, 2022, and was released in the United States on November 11, as the final film of Phase Four of the MCU. On October 18, 2021, Marvel announced a new release date of November 11, 2022 to accommodate changes in production on several movies."Marvel Movie Shifts: ‘Doctor Strange 2’ To Kick Off Summer 2022, ‘Thor: Love And Thunder’ Heads To July & More", Deadline, October 18, 2021. At the end of April 2022 at CinemaCon, Marvel confirmed November 11th would be the release date."Disney Confirms 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Release Date", Hypebeast (via Yahoo!Life), April 29, 2022 The film received positive reception from film critics, who praised the cast's performances (particularly Wright's, Huerta's, and Bassett's), emotional weight, Coogler's direction, action sequences, musical score, and tribute to Boseman. The film has grossed over $831 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2022. For her performance, Bassett won Best Supporting Actress at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, and the film has received six nominations at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards.
==Plot==
T'Challa, king of Wakanda, dies of a disease that his sister Shuri believes could have been cured by the "heart-shaped herb". Shuri had been attempting to synthetically recreate the herb after it was destroyed by Killmonger, but failed to do so before T'Challa succumbed.
A year later, Wakanda has been under pressure from other countries to share their vibranium, with some parties attempting to steal it by force. Ramonda implores Shuri to continue her research on the heart-shape herb, hoping to create a new Black Panther that will defend Wakanda, but she refuses as she believes the Black Panther to be a figure of the past. The CIA uses a new vibranium-detecting machine on an expedition to a potential vibranium deposit underwater. The entire search team is then attacked and killed by Namor and his blue-skinned, water-breathing people, but the CIA believe Wakanda was responsible. Namor goes to Ramonda and Shuri, easily bypassing Wakanda's advanced security. He blames Wakanda for the vibranium race, and gives them an ultimatum – find and give him the scientist responsible for the vibranium-detecting machine, or he will attack Wakanda.
Shuri and Okoye, with the help of their friend CIA agent Everett K. Ross, go to Boston to meet the scientist responsible: an MIT student named Riri Williams. The group are chased by the FBI, and then by Namor's warriors, who defeat Okoye and take Shuri and Riri underwater to meet Namor. Ramonda strips Okoye of her duty as Dora Milaje, and seeks out Nakia, who has been living in Haiti since the Blip, for help to find Shuri and Riri. Shuri meets Namor, who shows her his underwater kingdom of Talokan, which he has protected for centuries and is rich with vibranium. Bitter at the surface world that once rejected him, Namor expresses his wish for an alliance with Wakanda against the rest of the world, but promises to destroy Wakanda first if they refuse. Nakia helps Shuri and Riri escape, and Namor retaliates with an attack against the capital of Wakanda, during which Ramonda drowns saving Riri. Namor promises to return in a week with his full force, to see if they've changed their mind. Meanwhile, Ross is arrested by his ex-wife and director of the CIA, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, for secretly exchanging classified intelligence with the Wakandans.
Shuri, using a remnant of the herb that gave Namor's people their underwater abilities, is able to synthetically reconstruct the heart-shaped herb. Shuri ingests the herb to become the new Black Panther, and, after meeting Killmonger in the Ancestral Plane, is accepted by the other tribes. Despite M'Baku's advice for peace, Shuri is determined to get revenge for Ramonda's death and orders an immediate counter-attack on Namor. The Wakandans use a seafaring vessel, the Sea Leopard, to set a trap for Namor, luring him and his warriors to the surface, and a battle ensues. Shuri separates Namor from the rest of his people, intending to dry him out and weaken him. The pair crash on a desert beach and a battle ensues where Shuri is stabbed, but eventually breaks free. Using the engine from the crashed Royal Talon Fighter, she burns Namor and gains the upper hand, but ultimately decides to spare his life and offer him a peaceful alliance to save his people, which Namor accepts, as the battle ends. Namor's cousin, Namora, is upset at Namor yielding to Shuri, but he promises that Shuri's empathy for their people is useful, and that Wakanda needs them because it has no other allies in the world. Now safe, Riri returns to Boston, but has to leave her new suit behind to not worsen the relations between Wakanda and the United States. Okoye then rescues Ross from captivity.
In a mid-credits scene, Shuri visits Nakia in Haiti where she burns her funeral ceremonial robe like her mother wanted, allowing herself to finally grieve. She then learns that Nakia and T'Challa have a son that Nakia has been raising in secret far from the pressure of the throne, Toussaint, who reveals his Wakandan name is given after T'Challa.
==Cast==
*Letitia Wright as Shuri / Black Panther
*Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia
*Danai Gurira as Okoye
*Winston Duke as M'Baku
*Florence Kasumba as Ayo
*Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart
*Michaela Coel as Aneka
*Tenoch Huerta as Namor
**Manuel Chavez as Young Namor
*Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross
*Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine
*Angela Bassett as Ramonda
*Michael B. Jordan as N'Jadaka / Erik "Killmonger" Stevens (cameo)
*Isaach de Bankolé as River Tribe Elder
*Dorothy Steel as Merchant Tribe Elder
*Danny Sapani as Border Tribe Elder
*Mabel Cadena as Namora
*Alex Livinalli as Attuma
*Connie Chiume as Zawavari
*María Mercedes Coroy as Princess Fen, Namor's mother
**Irma-Estel Laguerre as Older Princess Fen
*Zainab Jab as Mining Tribe Elder
*Richard Schiff as U.S. Secretary of State (cameo)
*Kamaru Usman as Naval Officer (cameo)
*Lake Bell as Dr. Graham (cameo)
*Trevor Noah as Griot (voice)
*Gigi Bermingham as French Secretary of State (cameo)
*Bill Barrett as FBI Special Agent (cameo)
*Travis Love as M'Bele (cameo)
*Amber Harrington as Rita Salazar (cameo)
*Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther (archive footage)
*Divine Love Konadu-Sun as Toussaint / T'Challa II
==Production==
===Development===
With the release of Black Panther in February 2018, producer Kevin Feige said there were "many, many stories" to tell about the character, and he wanted director and co-writer Ryan Coogler to return for any sequel; Marvel Studios wanted to keep the creative team as intact as possible, while Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan F. Horn, despite feeling it was too early to discuss a sequel, was also positive about the desire to have Coogler return as director. Coogler wanted to see how Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa / Black Panther would grow as a king in future films since his reign only recently began in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in contrast to the comics in which he had been king since childhood. In March 2018, Feige said there was nothing specific to reveal about a sequel, but Marvel had ideas and a "pretty solid direction" on where they wanted to take a second film. That month, Boseman's agent Michael Greene was in negotiations for the actor to return as T'Challa in two planned Black Panther sequels for a reported pay of $10 million and $20 million, respectively. By October, Coogler had closed a deal to write and direct a sequel to Black Panther. Despite both Marvel and Coogler having always intended to work together again after the first film's success, Coogler avoided rushing into a deal. Negotiations with Coogler were completed "under the radar" in the months following the first film's release. He was expected to begin writing the sequel in 2019, ahead of a planned filming start in late 2019 or early 2020.
In November 2018, Letitia Wright was confirmed to be reprising her role of T'Challa's sister Shuri for the sequel. When Angela Bassett, who played Ramonda in Black Panther, was asked if the main cast would return for the sequel, her husband Courtney B. Vance said they would. He said this included Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger, who was killed in the first film, and Bassett agreed. Feige dismissed Vance's statement in June 2019 as "pure rumor", saying there were no set plans for the film as Coogler had just begun outlining it and had not yet shared his plans with Feige or co-producer Nate Moore. The next month, John Kani expressed interest in reprising his role as T'Challa's father T'Chaka in the film, and Danai Gurira stated that Coogler had confirmed she would be reprising her role of Okoye in the sequel. Feige confirmed the sequel's development at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, while Martin Freeman confirmed in August that he would reprise his role as Everett K. Ross in the sequel. A release date of May 6, 2022, was announced at D23 along with the placeholder title Black Panther II. Feige said Coogler had completed a script treatment for the film that included a villain and new title. At the end of 2019, Ruth E. Carter confirmed that she would be returning from the first film as costume designer for the sequel, and said that she was set to begin work on it in "the fall". Feige, Boseman, and Coogler discussed adapting elements of Boseman's more "Gung ho" T'Challa performance in the second episode of What If...? for the film.
On August 28, 2020, however, Boseman died from colon cancer. Coogler stated that he had been unaware of Boseman's illness, and had spent the last year "preparing, imagining and writing words for him to say [in the film] that we weren't destined to see". Feige and other executives at Marvel Studios were also unaware of Boseman's illness. Boseman, who had become thinner from his illness in the weeks prior to his death, had been prepared to begin gaining the weight back in September 2020 ahead of filming the sequel in March 2021. According to The Hollywood Reporter, industry observers felt Disney could recast the role, but that might generate a "fan outcry" and prompt comparisons between actors. Another suggestion was for Disney to shift their plans and have Shuri take on the mantle of the Black Panther, which occurred in the comic books. By the time of Boseman's death, Coogler was in the middle of writing the script and had already turned in a draft. In mid-November, executive producer Victoria Alonso said a digital double of Boseman would not be created for the film, and added that Marvel was taking their time to work out what they were going to do next and how. Later in the month, Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, and Bassett were confirmed to be reprising their roles for the sequel as Nakia, M'Baku, and Ramonda, respectively, while Tenoch Huerta was in talks for an antagonist role. At that time, filming was expected to begin in June or July 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.
In December 2020, the film's release date was moved back to July 8, 2022. Feige also confirmed that the role of T'Challa would not be recast, and said the sequel would explore the world and characters of the first film as a way to honor the legacy that Boseman helped build. He would later reaffirm that visual effects would not be used to include Boseman in the film, and also said it "felt like it was much too soon to recast" noting how the world outside and within the MCU was still processing the loss of Boseman. By the end of the month, Boseman's makeup designer Siân Richards was set to return for the sequel, while his personal costumer Craig Anthony said he would not commit to the film due to Boseman's death. Hair designer Deidra Dixon was unsure if she would return following Boseman's death, as well as the death of her sister. Feige said in January 2021 that the primary focus of the sequel was always about further exploring the characters and "different subcultures" of Wakanda. That same month, Jordan said he was willing to reprise his role as Killmonger as he felt returning to the MCU would "always be on the table in some capacity" due to his love for the character and for working with Coogler. In February, Daniel Kaluuya said he was unsure if he would reprise his role of W'Kabi; he ultimately did not due to scheduling conflicts with the film Nope (2022).
===Pre-production===
In March 2021, Coogler said he was still writing the script, and described working on the film without Boseman as the hardest thing he had ever done in his career. He added that Boseman had held together the first film, and now as the director, he was the one trying to keep it going. He was able to reuse many elements of his planned film before Boseman's death while incorporating and applying "the themes that the people who were hurting just as much as me could actually perform and execute and come out on the other side whole". According to Coogler, the original version of the script would have explored T'Challa dealing with resuming life after the Blip and "grieving the loss of time... after being gone for five years," and involved T'Challa's relationship with his son Toussaint who he never met because of the Blip. Coogler also said that Namor and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine were in the original script, with de Fontaine having a larger role compared to the final film. Wright added that Shuri would have become Black Panther alongside T'Challa. Freeman said he would soon meet with Coogler to discuss the project. In April, Coogler wrote an op-ed in which he said the film would still shoot in Georgia despite the state passing its controversial Election Integrity Act of 2021 law. Though Coogler did not support the bill, he felt that boycotting film production in the state would have a negative effect on the people who otherwise would have been employed by the film. He instead planned to raise awareness of how to overturn the bill. Nyong'o expressed excitement for Coogler's plans and how everyone involved was dedicated to continuing Boseman's legacy,later saying that Coogler had reshaped his ideas for the film to respect Boseman, which she felt was "spiritually and emotionally correct" to do. Moore described the film as "how you move forward while dealing with a tragic loss. All of the characters, both old and new, are dealing with how loss can affect your actions in ways that are emotional and surprising."
The film continues exploring feminist themes from the first film, with Nyong'o saying the film would tackle the "beliefs, passions, loves and arguments" of the women characters, creating "a robust drama". She also felt that Wakanda was a "world we are striving to get to". The film introduces Namor to the MCU, while changing his homeworld from the comics, Atlantis, to Talokan. Talokan is a "lavish", hidden, underwater Mesoamerican civilization that was inspired by ancient Mayan culture. The creatives worked with Mayan historians and experts to portray it. Coogler noted Talokan was similar to Wakanda in that it was also an advanced civilization "hiding in plain sight", with Moore stating the two "often find themselves in conflict because they're not dissimilar. They are these nations that would prefer to be hidden and isolated, with monarchs who are incredibly powerful and have strong points of view about how the world should be." Hannah Beachler returns from the first film as production designer, noting she did a "deep dive" to portray this version of Atlantis in the film; she was visually inspired by the films Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), and Jack Kirby's comic imagery. Carter included jade and aquatic elements in her costumes for the Talokan people, and referenced sea creatures such as the lionfish and sharks for their feather headdresses. Many of the costumes needed to be tested in water given the amount of underwater filming that occurred. One of the reasons would have been that there were no comparisons with Aquaman from competing company DC Entertainment, the association between the legendary Atlantis and Mesoamerica came from the book Atlantis: The Antediluvian World (1882) by Ignatius L. Donnelly.
In May 2021, Marvel Studios revealed the film's title as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which Ethan Anderton of /Film believed was a fitting tribute to Boseman since "Wakanda Forever" is the battle cry of the Wakandans. Wakanda Forever was originally intended to be used as the title of a potential third Black Panther film before the creatives decided to use it for the second film, with Moore stating that the title "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 of those things." By the end of that month, Freeman said he had read the script and expressed excitement for it. At the end of June, Edgar Luna, the business development manager of Worcester, Massachusetts's Economic Development Office, said the technical department of Wakanda Forever was in the city the week of June 25 to scout and inspect filming locations, including at the Worcester Police Department headquarters.
===Filming===
Production started at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 29, 2021, under the working title Summer Break. Prior to Boseman's death, filming had been set to start in March 2021. At the start of filming, Feige announced that "everyone" from the first film was expected to return. Autumn Durald Arkapaw serves as the cinematographer, after doing so on Marvel Studios' Disney+ series Loki, replacing the first film's cinematographer Rachel Morrison. A long time collaborator of Coogler's, Morrison planned to return for Wakanda Forever but was unable to due to a scheduling conflict with her film Flint Strong caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussing the use of anamorphic lenses as opposed to spherical lenses, Coogler explained that anamorphic lenses "warp the image a little bit", which fit with the film having "the fog of loss over it"; a "profound loss... can warp how you look at the world". Wright, Gurira, Nyong'o, and Kasumba bonded together on set while dealing with their grief for Boseman's death, with Wright and Gurira particularly connecting through taking walks together. Gurira described feeling emotional while entering the throne set, as she remembered filming scenes with Boseman during the first film, and said that Coogler helped her process her grief.
Bassett said in July that the screenplay was still undergoing changes due to Boseman's death, and had gone through at least five incarnations. She also indicated that the first film's co-writer Joe Robert Cole was contributing to the sequel, which Feige soon confirmed. Michaela Coel joined the cast in an undisclosed role. In August, Isaach de Bankolé was set to reprise his role as the Wakandan River Tribe elder, and Dominique Thorne began filming scenes for Wakanda Forever as Riri Williams before starring as that character in the Disney+ series Ironheart. Filming that month was expected to take place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and in Worcester, with the production preparing to film a car chase in Worcester by August 18. A chase scene was filmed in the Ernest A. Johnson Tunnel on August 23 and 24. On August 25, Wright was temporarily hospitalized with what were believed to be minor injuries sustained in an accident while filming a stunt in Boston. Wright went to her home in London for recovery in September while filming continued to shoot around her character. Dorothy Steel, who portrayed the Wakandan Merchant Tribe elder in the first film, died on October 15; she was in the middle of reprising her role for the sequel when she died.
In late October, the film's release was delayed to November 11, 2022. The production moved to the Mary Ross Waterfront Park in Brunswick, Georgia by October 22, where filming occurred from October 28 to November 2. Michael Torras, the manager of the Brunswick Landing Marina, said a 300-foot cruise ship would join the production in the following days, and most of the filming occurred on the water. Matthew Hill, Brunswick's downtown development authority director, said most of the scenes were shot at night. By November 5, filming of the scenes that did not require Wright was completed, before the production went on hiatus on November 19. This was to accommodate Wright's fractured shoulder and a concussion, which were more serious than initially determined, and was not expected to affect the film's release date. The United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implemented new rules on November 8 requiring non-U.S. citizens to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof of vaccination before traveling to the country. The Hollywood Reporter noted that this could present an issue for Wright's return to filming in Atlanta since she is not a U.S. citizen and was reportedly not vaccinated. In mid-December, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that filming would resume in late January 2022 in Atlanta with Wright involved; Feige, Moore, and executive producer Louis D'Esposito confirmed upon the start of the hiatus that Wright was the film's new lead.
Filming resumed by mid-January 2022, with a recovered Wright returning, and was expected to continue for four weeks. Filming was originally scheduled to resume on January 10 but was delayed by a week after cast and crew members, including Nyong'o, tested positive for COVID-19. At that time, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Duke had negotiated a pay raise for his return because of his character's expanded role in the sequel. The following month, Nyong'o revealed that Danny Sapani would be reprising his role as the Wakandan Border Tribe elder in the film. Thorne completed filming her scenes by March 13. Additional photography began on March 18, in Puerto Rico, where filming officially wrapped on March 24.
===Post-production===
In June 2022, Huerta confirmed that he was appearing in the film, and he was officially announced to be playing Namor at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con the next month, when Coel, Mabel Cadena, and Alex Livinalli were also revealed to be respectively playing Aneka, Namora, and Attuma, and Florence Kasumba was confirmed to be reprising her role as Ayo. Reshoots occurred with the cast following their appearance at Comic-Con. Huerta described them as being for "little missing pieces". In late July, it was revealed that Kamaru Usman would appear in the film, while Richard Schiff was revealed to be cast in September. Lake Bell was revealed to be appearing in the film in October; she previously voiced alternate versions of Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow in What If...?. Michael P. Shawver returns as editor from the first film.
Perception designed the film's main-on-end title sequence, which depicts Shuri's funeral clothes being burned to reveal a Black Panther suit underneath. The sequence was filmed practically using a specialized fireproof Panavision camera, with Perception igniting controlled flames on cloth similar to the fabric worn by Shuri in the film. The film only features one post-credits scene, with Moore explaining that the creatives "felt the ending was so kind of poetic", that including an additional scene after the credits would have "felt a little disingenuous tonally from what we were doing".
==Marketing==
The first footage from the film was shown in a sizzle reel of Disney's upcoming films during the studio's presentation at CinemaCon in April 2022. Feige, Coogler, and the cast promoted the film at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con alongside a live performance from singer Baaba Maal, tamaplayer Massamba Diop, and other African drummers and dancers and the debut of the teaser trailer on July 23, 2022. It featured a cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" that transitions into Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" (2015). Both Leah Simpson and Giovana Gelhoren of People called the footage "powerful", while Sandra Gonzalez of CNN felt the teaser commemorated Boseman's performance and wrote "amid the grief that permeates the preview, there's hope, the birth of new life (literally) and a glimpse at the future, with a clawed sneak peek of a new suited hero". Writing for IndieWire, Christian Zilko also felt the teaser commemorated Boseman's performance while also opining that this presented a "daunting" challenge for Marvel Studios for Black Panther's future, due to Boseman being regarded as "one of the cornerstones of the MCU moving forward" and the studio not recasting his role. Variety's Carson Burton and J. Kim Murphy felt the teaser focused on who would "take on the mantle" of Black Panther, noting the presence of a mysterious figure at the end of the trailer. The teaser trailer received 172 million views in its first 24 hours of release. Funko Pops for the film were also revealed a day after.
The film was included in a sizzle reel shown ahead of screenings during National Cinema Day that highlighted upcoming films from various studios. Coogler, Wright, Duke, Bassett, and Huerta promoted the film at the 2022 D23 Expo with exclusive footage, which Aaron Couch from The Hollywood Reporter described as a "gripping sequence". An official trailer was released on October 3, 2022. EJ Panaligan at Variety and Narayan Liu of Comic Book Resources both called it an "exciting" trailer that provided a better look at the new Black Panther costume, with Liu adding it teased "a more intense storyline centered on loss, strength and the heroes" of the MCU. Devan Coggan of Entertainment Weekly said the trailer was "the best look yet at Wakanda's future" which ended with "a stunning look at the new Panther suit". Gizmodo's Linda Codega found everything in the trailer from "the music, the energy, [and] the intensity" to be "incredible" and exclaimed the film appeared to be "balanc[ing] political maneuvering, spycraft, and the kind of goofiness [one would] expect out of a Marvel film".
In October 2022, Marvel partnered with Target for an ad campaign featuring Thorne reprising her role as Riri Williams. The minute-long ad was directed by Malik Vitthal and shows Williams working on her Mark I Ironheart suit concurrent with a group of young Black girls creating with Lego. Williams sees one of the girls at Target, who gives her inspiration for her suit's power source. Shannon Miller at Adweek called the ad "a rare occurrence in mainstream marketing" of two young Black STEM girls interacting. The ad featured a number of MCU-themed Easter eggs and the song "I Got the Juice" by Janelle Monáe featuring Pharrell Williams. It debuted online on October 16, 2022, with an airing during Monday Night Football the following day; 30 and 15-second versions were also created. Marvel and Target's partnership also includes exclusive merchandise and augmented reality experiences within Target stores. Also in October, Sprite Zero Sugar launched a marketing campaign to promote the film from Wieden + Kennedy and Momentum Worldwide. Lexus ran an advertisement promoting its RZ 450e with Danai Gurira portraying Okoye. Lexus and Adidas teamed up for designing a custom Lexus LC 500 Convertible for JuJu Smith-Schuster during the world premiere. Both it and the Lexus GX feature in the film.
On November 1, McDonald's began selling Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Happy Meals which come with one of ten toys based on characters from the film. A six-episode podcast hosted by Ta-Nehisi Coates, titled Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast, features interviews with the cast and crew discussing the making of the film. The first episode premiered on November 3, 2022, and the subsequent episodes will be released weekly beginning January 2023. Three episodes of the series Marvel Studios: Legends were released on November 4, 2022, exploring T'Challa, Shuri, and the Dora Milaje using footage from their previous MCU appearances, while a 20/20 TV special entitled Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda hosted by Robin Roberts and featuring interviews with the film's cast was aired on ABC. To celebrate the launch of Adidas' "Wakanda Forever Collection", Calty Design Research, Adidas School for Experiential Education in Design and Carbon partnered to design a custom Lexus RX 500h F SPORT inspired by the film. Advertisers paid over $100 million for the promotional campaign of Wakanda Forever according to Deadline Hollywood.
==Release==
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiered at the El Capitan Theatre and the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on October 26, 2022. It also premiered in Lagos, Nigeria on November 6, 2022, which Deadline Hollywood described as the first Marvel film to hold a local premiere.
It began releasing internationally on November 9, 2022, and in the United States on November 11. It was previously scheduled for May 6 and then for July 8, 2022. The film was released theatrically in France, despite the country's 17-month waiting period for when films can appear on streaming services after its theatrical release. Disney's decision to release Wakanda Forever in theaters was encouraged by the French government's acknowledgment that their media chronology needed to be modernized and their timeline to do so, after previously opting to skip the theatrical release of their film Strange World and release it directly to Disney+ in the region. Under the current chronology, Wakanda Forever will first become available on Disney+ in France in early 2024. It is the final film of Phase Four of the MCU.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is unlikely to be released in China, most likely due to the depiction of a same-sex relationship between Ayo and Aneka, with previous MCU Phase Four films also having not been released in China. The removal of this scene, along with some other edits, were made in order for the film to be released in Kuwait.
==Box office==
As of January 8, 2023, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has grossed $445.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $385.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $831.2 million. It is the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2022, behind Minions: The Rise of Gru, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Jurassic World: Dominion, Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film was projected to earn $175 million in North America on its opening weekend. By November 2022, Boxoffice Pro estimated the film's opening weekend in North America to be between $170–205 million, and projected the film would earn $435–543 million for its total domestic gross. The film made $84.3 million on its first day, including $28 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to gross $181.3 million during the opening weekend, attaining the first position at the box office. This was, at that point, the third-biggest opening weekend for a film since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($187 million) and Spider-Man: No Way Home ($260 million). It was also the biggest opening weekend ever for a film released in November. The film remained in the first position the following weekend with a gross of $66.5 million for a drop of 63%. In the third weekend, it earned $45.6 million while dropping 31%. In addition, it grossed $63.8 million during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend. During its fourth weekend of release, the film grossed $17.5 million for a drop of 61%, while in the fifth weekend, it grossed $11.2 million for a drop of 36%. In the sixth weekend, it was displaced from the first position by Avatar: The Way of Water, grossing $5.3 million for a drop of 52%. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the third highest-grossing film of 2022 in this region behind Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water.
==Critical reception==
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 84% with an average rating of 7.2/10, based on 417 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads: "A poignant tribute that satisfyingly moves the franchise forward, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever marks an ambitious and emotionally rewarding triumph for the MCU." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 62 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale (slightly lower than the first film's "A+" grade), while PostTrak reported audience members gave the film an overall positive score of 93%, with 85% saying that they would definitely recommend it.
==Future==
===Possible sequel===
In November 2022, Coogler and Feige were revealed to have discussed a potential third Black Panther film.
===Ironheart===
In November 2022, Moore stated that the Disney+ series Ironheartwould serve as a direct sequel to Wakanda Forever, with Thorne returning to reprise her role as Riri Williams. Ironheart is set to premiere in 2023.
==Videos==
Marvel Studios’ Black Panther- Wakanda Forever - Official Teaser|Official Teaser
Marvel Studios’ Black Panther- Wakanda Forever - Official Trailer|Offical Trailer
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