Image Source: Gospel Telegraph
At a rowdy panel at Comic-Con in San Diego, Marvel Studios showed the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer to excited fans, who yelled their delight.
The movie is the follow-up to Black Panther, which came out in 2018 and starred the late Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, the valiant ruler of the mythical African nation of Wakanda, which boasts cutting-edge technology.
There were some tears on stage as Boseman’s castmates spoke about how much it meant to them to honor his memory through this new project. The film opens with a female vocalist singing No Woman, No Cry.
Returning as director, Ryan Coogler talked about how thrilled T’Challa was to witness the initial Black Panther footage at Comic-Con five years prior.
He said, “I can feel his hand on me now.
Letitia Wright, a British actress who plays Shuri, the Black Panther’s sister, and Lupita Nyong’o, an Oscar winner who plays Nakia, a covert agent working for Wakanda, are also reprising their roles.
The audience was on their feet for a spine-tingling performance by a group of musicians and dancers performing with African drums before the actors took the stage.
Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico) will debut in Wakanda Forever as the anti-hero Namor McKenzie, also known as the Sub-Mariner, confirming a long-running casting rumor. The movie’s adversary is Namor, the ruler of the underwater realm of Atlantis; the trailer alludes to a confrontation between Wakanda and his people.
In addition, Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart, a young scientist who transforms into a superhero (and who will get her own program on Disney+ in 2023), and Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) have joined the cast.
The first Black Panther movie made over $1 billion worldwide, making it the first superhero movie to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and a turning point for diversity in cinema.
Marvel previously stated that it would not be recasting the part of T’Challa, a move that has split fans. Some feel that because Boseman passed away from colon cancer in 2020, the role should always belong to him, while others, including Boseman’s brother, believe it should go to a new actor.
The very last frame of the teaser shows a telltale flash of the Black Panther claws, even though it wasn’t confirmed that Shuri would now be wearing the panther costume.
Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel, provides a three-year outlook.
For readers who are new to the Marvel Universe, it is a vast setting with hundreds of overlapping characters that its designers attempt to organize into “phases” to make more manageable.
Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, said that the current wave of movies and TV shows, known as Phase 4, would conclude on November 11 with Wakanda Forever.
But he also revealed Phase 5, revealing that the new picture cycle will begin on February 17 with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man. He did this to tease fans with a glimpse into the future.
Rudd was questioned about what his character has been up to recently as he joined Feige on stage with the rest of the ensemble.
The third and final volume of the space adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, will follow on May 5. As he recounted introducing the series ten years ago this week in North Carolina, where Iron Man 3 was being made, director James Gunn started to cry.
The cast of the movie joined Gunn on the renowned Hall H stage, and Chris Pratt, who plays Star-Lord, acknowledged that it was the cast’s first time viewing the trailer, adding, “It’s gorgeous!”
The Marvels see Captain Marvel teaming up with Ms. Marvel, Spectrum, and Monica Rambeau as they continue the sprint through Phase 5.
There was no squad revelation today, so fans will have to wait a bit longer to find out who’s in it. It will end in July 2024 with Thunderbolts.
Feige then jumped ahead to Phase 6, saying that The Fantastic Four will be in the cycle and its release date is November 8, 2024, but again, no casting has been announced yet. Phase 6 will conclude with the release of the two movies Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars at the end of 2025.
Although Marvel doesn’t advertise what it will talk about in advance at San Diego Comic-Con, a significant pop culture gathering where some of the most popular movies in history have made their debut, its announcements are Saturday’s most sought-after event.
Thor: Love and Thunder, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and TV shows like Moon Knight and Miss Marvel were all released in 2022. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the doctor-cum-master of the mystical arts in these films.
