Is Wakanda Really Forever?

After waiting nearly 5 years, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is out in theaters! 

This article will have a lot of spoilers! (Not of the new movie, but of the first Black Panther and other Marvel Movies.)

For the people who have not seen the movie yet, some background info. Shuri is the child prodigy and little sister of the recently deceased T’challa. Ever since the passing of Chadwick Boseman, the original actor of Black Panther and T’challa, the Marvel community have been speculating ideas about new Black Panthers and possible movie ideas for the mom and queen of Wakanda, and even bringing Killmonger back to life! People's most common choice for new Black Panther though, is…

 “Shuri, because she’s best suited for the role.” says Elsie, an 8th grader. “She’s smart and super cool. It would be cool to see a new female lead.”

  Now, catch up on background info. In 2015 during the movie Captain America: Civil War, Marvel introduced their first-ever Black superhero called “the Black Panther”. This was huge as the Black Panther was the very first Black Superhero to ever be in the world of comics. Following Civil War, the Black Panther got his own movie in 2017 “Black Panther”. Hailing from a vast and incredibly technologically advanced country in Africa called Wakanda, T’Challa was the Heir to the Throne and the mantle of Black Panther. After the death of his father T’Chaka, the previous king of Wakanda, T’Challa became the new Black Panther that we now know and love. 

Although ideas for a sequel to the first Black Panther movie began in 2018, in 2020, Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, finally confirmed that there would be a sequel that would come out on May 6, 2022. Due to Covid and the Pandemic, that date changed around a bit until it was finally confirmed in 2022 that the official release date would be November 11, 2022, and the premiere on October 26, 2022.One of our students, Greg, an 8th grader, said, 

 “I’m most excited to watch the new movie because there has been so much excitement for it. It would be cool if they included new characters and crossovers as well.”.

Namor the Sub-Mariner, teased in Avengers: Endgame, will be one of the first Marvel characters of Mesoamerican origins to enter the MCU and be in the new movie (that much we know from the trailer). In the Marvel comics he is the leader of an Underwater civilization. Whether he will be an antagonist, ally to the hero, or an anti-hero is not known for sure, but it will open up a whole new underwater world to the MCU.