Unlike many of your friends on social media, Black. decided to let your Thanksgiving leftovers expire before we exposed you to movie spoilers. You’re welcome. If you haven’t seen it by now, then be warned: there are spoilers ahead.
“Wakanda Forever”, at its core, tells a story about grief—specifically what grief can do when it goes unaddressed. We watch it turn our irreverent and friendly protagonist into a vindictive war general. We see it isolate friends and foes alike from the people they love in their darkest moments. We even see it divide two nations with common goals and enemies, which serves as the central conflict.
On November 11, “Black Panther: "Wakanda Forever"” premiered nationwide and immediately broke box office records. Audiences and critics alike had an overwhelmingly positive response to the film—amassing a critic score of 84% and an audience score of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the success did not come without its challenges and scandals.
USC alum (MFA ‘11) Ryan Coogler returned as director and co-writer, along with Joe Robert Cole as co-writer and USC alum Kevin Feige (BFA ‘95) and Nate Moore as executive producers. Between the star-studded cast and the success of its predecessor, it is a massive understatement to say that this film had large shoes to fill.
In addition to the typical pressures placed on sequel films, Chadwick Boseman’s unexpected and untimely death presented a unique challenge for the cast and crew: constructing a well-developed and entertaining action film that addresses his passing without folding under the weight of his absence.
Was the film successful? Yes…and no.
The film is just as visually stunning as its 2018 predecessor. The soundtrack, while not as acclaimed as the first film’s, fits the somber mood of the film. However, the factor that elevates "Wakanda Forever" beyond being yet another gorgeous but mediocre Marvel film is its stars.
Angela Bassett commanded every scene she was in with an effortless ease, perfectly emulating a grieving mother projecting a strong regal image to protect both her kingdom and the remnants of her family. Watching Ramonda’s death at the hands of Namor in theaters felt unnecessarily dark and cruel in a film so saturated with loss in the moment, but it proved to be the blessing in disguise that catalyzed Shuri’s ascent to Black Panther.
Letitia Wright, for all of the behind-the-scenes drama and negative press she fielded, delivered a commendable performance as the grieving young princess forced to take up the mantle of Black Panther. Her journey of learning to process her trauma rather than try to outrun or outwork it is one many will find relatable, along with the descent that follows her refusal to lean on her circle for support.
Tenoch Huerta was equal parts magnetic and menacing as the Mayan sea god Namor, who is haunted by the loss of his mother and the threat of exploitation and murder to his community Talokan. Like Killmonger before him, his reasons for being a menace to society are justified enough; his worries for his people reflect many of the issues Wakanda faces following the in-universe death of T’Challa.
For the most part, the supporting cast showed out. Danai Gurira is excellent as Okoye, imbuing the general’s trademark stiff and aloof demeanor with a subtle melancholy that works to the character’s advantage rather than its detriment. Lupita N’yongo brought a similar nuance to Nakia opposite the grief-ridden Shuri and Ramonda. Dominique Thorne as Riri Ironheart was an excellent addition to the cast. Michaela Coel’s Aneka brought much-needed levity to the Dora Milaje. Winston Duke’s M’Baku, for his part, was the perfect blend of the voice of reason and comic relief. I look forward to his implied villainous turn in the third installment.
Unfortunately, that is where the commendations end.
Several members of the cast failed to move me due to poor narrative choices. Namora (Mabel Cadena) is a formidable second-in-command to Namor and interesting to watch, but her character isn’t given enough to do to invest the audience in her lore or her place in Namor’s story beyond her fight scenes and brief dialogue. Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) is charming and bumbling as ever, but his scenes and storyline felt inconsequential and tonally misplaced within the film’s generally somber atmosphere. Luckily for them, their questionable narrative use does not detract enough from the main story to leave a lasting impression in either direction; in a film like this, no lasting impression is better than a bad one.
I found Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s character to be wholly unnecessary. If they were going to try to convince the audience that this woman was a compelling force of conflict or a genuine thorn for Ross, they could have given him a scene partner he had at least comedic chemistry with. Despite decent acting from both Freeman and Louis-Dreyfus, I found their history difficult to believe and counted down the minutes until their scenes ended.
I was disappointed by Michael B. Jordan’s performance. Though his screen time was brief, he had an opportunity to act as a compelling foil of a man consumed by the need for vengeance and an omen for what Shuri could (and briefly did) become if she didn’t properly contend with her grief. Instead, Killmonger appeared as a self-righteous, bloodthirsty, and mildly irritable man who Shuri understandably would not and could not see herself in.
Additionally, I found myself frustrated by the concessions the plot made to accommodate the ghost of T’Challa. There was an understanding entering the theater that T’Challa’s presence would be felt though Boseman is no longer with us—a recurring sentiment echoed throughout the film—but the amount of scene time allotted for paying tribute bordered on overkill. The funeral sequences were apt and appropriate. The mural of him in the Golden City made sense for the setting. The frequent mentions were inevitable. But having him abandon a son—also named T’Challa—in death for reopened the door for a male Black Panther hindered the effectiveness of Shuri’s Black Panther arc and essentially undermined her position as the new Black Panther; rather than celebrate the significance of a woman taking up the Black Panther mantle, her progress was now in a position to be understood as a temporary solution until the traditional Black male successor can take over.
It is also very possible that my frustration about the handling of Shuri’s arc stems from the fact that the staggering amount of care and attention that went into honoring T’Challa at her expense wasn’t enough to halt the progression of the #RecastTChalla movement.
A Change.org petition advocating for the role of T’Challa to be recast, which is still active as of publishing, has received over 62,000 signatures. Support for this movement, referred to in online spaces as #RecastTChalla, grew momentum as Chadwick Boseman’s brother Derrick claims that recasting the role is what Chadwick “would have wanted” in a TMZ article—only noting at the very end that Chadwick never expressed any opinion on what should become of T’Challa before his passing.
In a film riddled with on and off-screen casualties, the most disappointing was the opportunity for fans to mourn their expectations for T’Challa’s "Wakanda Forever". Instead, they—much like Shuri in the aftermath of Ramonda’s death—are too blinded by their grief of the “Black male superhero” to understand the implications of leveraging Boseman’s passing in protest of a nearly two-year-old decision.
Gripes aside, “Wakanda Forever” is not an experience you want to miss out on. Bring tissues and prepare to witness an emotional reckoning—perhaps, one that challenges you to be more intentional about your own healing journey.