Over the weekend, Marvel dropped a magnificent teaser to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. All eyes are on this one. The first Black Panther is one of the MCU’s most rewarding entries, both creatively and thematically. It’s also the one that will operate in the shadow of the Chadwick Boseman, whose shocking and tragic death left this franchise without a star and, more importantly, its various players without a man who clearly meant a great deal to them.
That’s a lot of pressure to put on a superhero movie but based purely on this teaser trailer, it was a responsibility director Ryan Coogler took very seriously. The result is a gorgeous, visual poem of a short film that does the impossible — paying tribute to its late star while also setting up the movie itself, in which the grieving nation of Wakanda must fend off a threat from the sea led by Marvel’s iconic Atlantean antihero Prince Namor (Tenoch Huerta).
The teaser is anchored by Coogler’s lovely visuals and Tems’ cover of “No Woman, No Cry” which bleeds seamlessly into Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright,” evolving from sorrow to joy and defiance.
The care and love for Boseman is clear throughout and in an interview with MTV News, Lupita Nyong’o explained how seriously they took the production. “Our call sheets didn’t have a number one,” she said. “That was reserved for Chadwick. He was with us.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be in theaters November 11.
