Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Let's The Story Shine (Spoiler Free)

When it comes to the Black Panther movies, the entire MCU was hurt by the sudden passing of Chadwick Boseman. With the future of the character up in the air, Marvel had to pivot where they wanted to go after the actor’s passing. The story not only had to fit into the cinematic universe, anything they did with the sequel had to properly honor both the character and Chadwick Boseman as well. With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever they 100% pulled off that challenging task.

While Wakanda Forever wasn’t as fun/funny as the original movie and that’s a good thing. Going back to the original movie, the playful ribbing between Shuri and T’Challa builds their relationship as well as adds a bit of fun to the characters. Those simple “WHAT ARE THOSE!” moments that were present in the first movie are absent in BP: WF as they should be. That’s not to say there aren’t light and upbeat moments. However, Disney and the MCU have leaned into over-the-top and family-friendly humor as of late. If they were to go that route for the Black Panther sequel it would’ve hurt the movie.

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From the trailers alone, we knew that the story was going to center around the death of T’Challa and who would replace him. For that reason, there’s a lot more of a grounded and emotional approach to the sequel. There are some very real moments where the audience not only feels the loss of one of their favorite characters but moments where the actors might be showing a bit of their emotion for the loss of a good friend/colleague. These sentiments can get very tricky when you try to force lines of dialogue and humor.

By no means does eliminating humor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever take away from the story. There are still great fight scenes, the rollercoaster of highs and lows, and the visual effects are beautifully on display. This was a fantastic choice by director Ryan Coogler to let the fans, the characters, and the actors all connect to the loss of Black Panther and Chadwick Boseman. Sequels don’t often live up to their original, but by letting emotion take centerstage in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever we’re delivered something that is just as good as the first.