The film has been marketed using hints of the original hero’s heir apparent and a brand new song by Rihanna, who is returning from a long hiatus.
*Black Panther: Wakanda Forever*, part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is one of the most anticipated and highly anticipated films of the year.
The film is the follow-up to 2018’s *Black Panther*, which was not only a box office success, but also a cultural phenomenon. On the other hand, the main star of the film, whose performance is considered one of the main reasons for the film’s success, died before the filming of the sequel.
How will the new film meet these challenges?
Wakanda Forever premiered in Finland on Wednesday. In the United States, the film went into wide distribution on Friday.
An exceptional superhero
Introduced in Marvel comics in 1966, Black Panther was the first superhero of African descent to appear in mainstream comics. The character made his debut on the big screen in 2016 as a supporting character in *Captain America: Civil War*.
Black Panther got his own movie two years later. In the story, the title character, T’Chalia of the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda, grows into his role as the defender and ruler of his kingdom.
The film was both an audience and critical success, grossing approximately $1.35 billion worldwide. It was a rare example of a big-budget film whose director and majority of the main cast were black.
The film was also the first cartoon adaptation to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
The death of the main star changed everything
The preparation of the sequel took an unexpected turn when the 43-year-old Boseman died of colon cancer in August 2020. Information about the actor’s death was published on his Twitter account the next day.
Boseman had already received the diagnosis in 2016, but never spoke about it publicly. Even the creators of Black Panther didn’t know about Boseman’s illness. At that time, the shooting of the film was supposed to start the following summer.
Boseman made his last appearance as Black Panther in *Avengers: Infinity War* in 2019. He also had time to record his lines for the *What If…*short animations, which were released a year after the actor’s death.
However, in December 2020, producer Feige confirmed that Boseman would not be replaced, nor would his character appear in any other way in the next film.
In March 2021, Coogler said he would still rewrite the script. However, he had been able to include elements in the new version that were already included in the version before Boseman’s death.
In May 2021, the film’s subtitle was confirmed as Wakanda Forever. Filming started at the end of June.
Filming was said to have ended at the end of March 2022. The new US premiere date was 11.11.
Who is the new Black Panther?
The absence of the original Black Panther and Boseman has marked the film’s marketing. The character’s death was confirmed in the sequel’s official plot summary at the end of last July.
According to the synopsis, the familiar characters from the first film will find themselves in a battle to protect the Kingdom of Wakanda after the death of T’Chalia.
A new character dressed as Black Panther has also appeared in the ads. The identity of the character was not confirmed beforehand, but it was hinted to be Leticia Wright’s Shuri, who was already seen in the first film.
The actor’s role was reportedly increased in the sequel due to Boseman’s death, supporting the idea that the character would take Black Panther’s place. The same plot twist has also happened in comics.
The soundtrack features a returning top artist
Dedicated to the memory of Chadwick Boseman, Lift Me Up rose to second place on the US Billboard chart in its release week and collected more than 26 million listens.
The song has received a mixed reception from critics. It has been seen as both a potential Oscar contender and a lackluster performance that falls short of expectations for Rihanna’s comeback.
The film is expected to be a financial success
The film is projected to generate around 170-200 million dollars in the US market during its opening weekend. The total revenue in the United States is estimated at 435-543 million dollars.
The film has generally been well received by critics. According to Rotten Tomatoes, 86 percent of the film’s more than 220 reviews were positive as of Friday.
In Finland, the film has recently received about three-star ratings. Helsingin Sanoma says the film will even exceed expectations and be one of the \”strongest Marvel adventures of the next few years\”.
It can be expected that Marvel films will still interest the audience in Finland. For example, *Thor: Love and Thunder*, which premiered in July, received approximately 138,000 viewers in theaters, although it received mixed reviews from critics.