A touching tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman that's also a
thrilling new installment in the MCU saga? "Black Panther:
Wakanda Forever" was a tall order, but Marvel Studios pulled it off. Here's how.
"Wakanda Forever" is the 30th feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. By now,
audiences are so familiar with the MCU's opening credits format, we could all probably reproduce
the moving letters and rousing music from memory. But Marvel has been experimenting
with its recognizable logo as of late. The titles for "Thor: Love and Thunder"
swapped the traditional MCU soundtrack for a Guns & Roses-esque power ballad version,
and "Werewolf by Night" bypassed them altogether for its own short, snappy,
and brightly colored introduction. But Marvel Studios' opening credits have never looked or
sounded like they do in "Wakanda Forever," and they've never been used for such a purpose before.
The standard sequence sees hand-drawn Marvel Comics illustrations morph into live-action
Marvel Studios film clips, all on the surface of 3D block letters. As each new superhero is
introduced, they get added to the next entry's graphics. But this time, rather than the entire
stable of Marvel superheroes being represented, every still and clip is of Chadwick Boseman as
T'Challa. For the first time, there's no music underscoring the visuals — it's 30 seconds of
respectful silence. As the words "Marvel Studios" fix themselves in the center of the screen,
they briefly glow purple -- the shade of the heart-shaped herb -- before fading into the
silver and black of T'Challa's Black Panther suit. There's nothing especially deep about superficial
changes to a corporate logo, but they help to set the tone for the film that's about to unfold.
Boseman's tragic death in August of 2020 meant that "Black Panther:
Wakanda Forever" had to be re-written from a script that was already in the works. Fans and
filmmakers alike debated about the best way forward for the franchise. Given the choice
between recasting the main character or elevating the status of one of the supporting players,
director and co-writer Ryan Coogler opted for the latter and got to work re-tooling the script.
The movie opens with a heart-wrenching scene in which Shuri is racing against the clock to improve
the formula of her synthetic heart-shaped herb. But before she can test out the unlikely cure,
her mother, Queen Ramonda, announces that T'Challa has gone to his ancestors. The
Black Panther's death from an illness that modern medicine — even Wakanda's — can't
treat is an obvious allusion to Boseman's own death from colon cancer at the age of 43.
It was both smart screenwriting and compassionate collaboration that led to this decision. As
Coogler explained to The Hollywood Reporter, Boseman's family consulted on the film,
which ensured that the final product would show the late actor proper deference. Other franchises
have had to deal with similar issues, though not to this extent. For example, Carrie Fisher's death
between production on "The Last Jedi" and "The Rise of Skywalker" deeply affected the final
chapter of the "Star Wars" saga. She was expected to play a larger role in the third movie in the
sequel trilogy, but her death changed those plans. By not straying too far from the truth, "Wakanda
Forever" allows us to mourn Boseman and T'Challa at the same time without trivializing the tragedy.
The primary way we and the characters in "Wakanda Forever" mourn the loss of
the real actor and the fictional King is through T'Challa's emotional and elaborate
funeral festivities. In "Captain America: Civil War," T'Challa talks to Natasha about
how he's processing his own father's death after the bombing in Vienna.
"In my culture, death is not the end."
Since Wakandans believe in an afterlife and a spiritual realm, the sad occasion of
the King's funeral is both an opportunity to grieve and a celebration of his life.
Pulling from African cultural and religious heritage, Wakanda's people gather in gauzy
white ceremonial clothing. There's dancing, singing and mourning. There
are plenty of nods to Chadwick Boseman's vaunted place in the MCU as well.
During the funeral, we see a shot of two drummers playing in front of a mural of
King T'Challa. Wakandan letters surround a black and white painting of the fallen
Black Panther's face. Production designer Hannah Beachler actually
developed a written language for Wakanda in the first film,
according to IndieWire. From what we can see, some of those characters are used here to spell out,
The mural gives filmmakers a way to show T'Challa's face without Boseman's physical
presence and without resorting to flashbacks too often. But it's also a reference to
something that really happened in the wake of the beloved actor's death. Disneyland
commissioned an official mural of Chadwick Boseman that was displayed at Downtown Disney,
and it eventually moved to a children's hospital, where it will remain as a permanent installation.
Other murals began to pop up around the country to honor the man who had been a
hero and an inspiration to so many. The mural in "Wakanda Forever" is an acknowledgement of
T'Challa's importance to the Wakandans and of Boseman's importance to multiple communities.
The Wakandan alphabet can be spotted throughout both "Black Panther" films. In
"Wakanda Forever," Riri Williams is taken back to the secretive African nation and sees their
rich culture and advanced technology for the first time. As she's given a sort of VIP tour,
the Dora Milaje stand guard in front of rectangular columns which are lit
from within and decorated with Wakandan characters. Each one contains a word or
phrase, and the five that are most visible during Riri's visit spell,
It appears the designers added this detail as an Easter egg and an extra
way to stamp Boseman's memory onto the set.
That nobody can replace T'Challa as king or as Black Panther in the movie becomes a meta
commentary on the idea that nobody could really replace Chadwick Boseman in the role. Wakanda is
without its protector because Erik Killmonger, aka N'Jadaka, burned the reserves of the heart-shaped
herb so that no one could challenge him during the events of the original film.
"Burn it all!"
So, as "Wakanda Forever" begins, literally no one can replace T'Challa since the enhanced
powers of the Black Panther aren't available to them without their vibranium-laced plants.
Queen Ramonda is acting as Regent, Shuri seems more interested in science than politics,
and M'Baku is content to lead the Jabari and be an ally of the Wakandan crown. And
since Shuri has given up on the idea of creating a synthetic heart-shaped herb,
everybody else has given up on the idea of there ever being a Black Panther again. Indeed,
there isn't one until the climax of "Wakanda Forever." Narratively, this works well to give
Boseman his due and to build anticipation for the moment when Shuri finally takes the mantle.
One of the reasons Chadwick Boseman's loss hit so hard among moviegoers who
didn't know him personally was because the actor gave off such a warm, authentic,
and eminently likable energy. He brought that energy to T'Challa,
who was among the more stoic characters in the MCU. Black Panther didn't get quips
and gags like Iron Man, Ant-Man, Star Lord, or Doctor Strange. He was the MCU's straight man,
even more so than Captain America. In stark contrast, Killmonger — his cousin and antagonist
in "Black Panther" — got to chew the scenery while T'Challa remained regal and restrained.
Michael B. Jordan gets to come back in one of the MCU's more purposeful cameos as Killmonger,
who didn't make it out of the last movie alive. When Shuri enters the ancestral plane,
she wants to see her brother or her mother. Instead, she sees Killmonger,
who shares the rage she has at having lost her family.
It would've been unrealistic for Killmonger — a notoriously confrontational and viciously
honest character — to have softened too much toward his former rival. What N'Jadaka has to
say to Shuri about her brother is completely in keeping with his character. He admits that
T'Challa was a good man, but warns Shuri that he was too noble for his own good.
Shuri takes this advice to heart, waging war against Talocan until she realizes
her and Namor's thirst for vengeance can only end in calamity for both of their nations.
After the climactic battle in "Wakanda Forever," Shuri heads to Haiti to burn her funeral clothes
and finally grieve her brother's passing in peace. Shots of the fibers burning are intercut
with breathtaking shots of Shuri in profile beginning to cry. When she closes her eyes,
we see a montage of her memories of T'Challa, made up of Boseman's highlights from his four-film
tenure in the MCU. These clips crossfade into the end credits, accompanied by Rihanna's new
original song, "Lift Me Up," the lyrics of which include the repeated phrase,
It's undoubtedly the quietest, calmest, and most earnest ending in MCU history.
This symbolic end to Shuri's mourning period is also incredibly cathartic for the audience,
who's probably dabbing the tears from their eyes when the final title card appears, reading,
"It's a beautiful contribution to Chadwick's legacy."
Usually, Marvel's mid and end-credits stingers are reserved for teasing new projects and making
tongue-in-cheek jokes. "Wakanda Forever" uses its lone and longer-than-usual mid-credits scene to
touchingly and gracefully transition the "Black Panther" franchise-within-a-franchise onto the
next leg of its journey. While Shuri's still having a moment on the beach, Nakia walks down
to where she's sitting with a young boy. She introduces him as her son and Shuri's nephew,
Toussaint. As it happens, T'Challa prepared Nakia and their secret son for his death,
and the family of two has been staying away from whatever drama will await the young Prince when he
comes of age. Shuri is heartened to find out that Ramonda got to meet her grandson before she died.
Then, the adorable kid tells his Aunt Shuri that Toussaint is his Haitian name, but his
real name is T'Challa. This new and unexpected mid-credits information is an elegant solution
to the problem of whether or not to cast a new King T'Challa. Introducing the character's son
allows Boseman to remain the sole actor to portray King T'Challa, son of T'Chaka, while
the next generation's T'Challa can eventually become a part of the MCU is his own right.