First “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Trailer Honors a Lost King & Introduces a New Threat
The very first look at co-writer/director Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever pulses with feeling. The teaser opens to Tems’ cover of Bob Marley’s deathless “No Woman, No Cry,” with Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) standing on a gorgeous coastline, silently taking in the beauty of her surroundings and, we imagine, the immensity of her loss. Wakanda Forever was supposed to see Chadwick Boseman reprise his role as T’Challa/Black Panther, of course, but Boseman tragically passed away in August 2020, and the cast and crew, with Coogler leading the way, had to reimagine the world of Wakanda, and the world of Black Panther, without its North Star. This is the first chance we’ve had to see how they managed it.
The first minute or so of the teaser trailer finds many of our heroes from the original Black Panther at a moment of reflection and mourning. T’Challa’s remaining family, little sister Suri (Letitia Wright), and mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett), are all that’s left, and they’ll factor in even more crucially than they did in the first film. Then there’s T’Challa’s most trusted leader of the Dora Milaje, Okoye (Danai Gurira), and his proud, powerful friend M’Baku (Winston Duke), the leader of the Jabari Tribe. The entire country of Wakanda appears to be absorbing the loss of T’Challa, and the beauty that Coogler and his team have marshaled to depict their mourning is astonishing.
Then, subtly, the trailer shifts from a mood of reflection to defiance. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reveals its villain—Namor the Sub-Mariner (Tenoch Huerta)—a king himself and a villain with immense powers. The trailer doesn’t reveal why Namor is coming for Wakanda, but you could reasonably assume it’s because, with T’Challa’s death, there’s a power vacuum in the country. Namor rules an underwater realm, and the image of his people holding onto the sides of whales as a means of transportation is wonderful. But they do not come in peace.
As the trailer builds to its emotional apex, a devastating speech by Ramonda, who has lost two kings (her husband and her son) in succession, we get a glimpse at the very end of something very special. It’s a new Black Panther. Of course, there’s no knowing, not yet, who’s in the suit.
New cast members include Dominique Thorne (as Riri Williams), Michaela Coel (Aneka), Mabel Cadena (Namora), and Alex Livanalli (Attuma).
Check out the thrilling first trailer below. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens on November 11, 2022.
For more on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, check out these stories:
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Star Letitia Wright Says Sequel Honors Chadwick Boseman
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” & More MCU Films Get New Release Date
