There is very little left for the premiere of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, a film totally marked by the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman. That forced Marvel to completely reorient it until it found the story that we can see in our nearest cinema starting on November 11.
The loss of Chadwick Boseman
Nevertheless, Disney He did not want to wait any longer to hold a press conference for the film that Espinof had the opportunity to attend. In it, many topics were discussed, but, obviously, it was impossible not to go fully into everything related to Boseman’s absence. This is what he commented Kevin Feig about:
Relatively soon it was decided that this incredible group of characters and this world that had been created needed to continue. Ryan throws himself into everything he does and we had already been working for almost a year on a version of the film with Chadwick, where he poured everything he had learned making the first film. And when we lost Chadwick, that’s obviously reflected in the film as well, keeping the idea of a celebration of the character and of Wakanda at the center of everything along with the grief that goes with it.
Perhaps the character most affected by T’Challa’s disappearance is Shuri, as she is his sister and they were incredibly close. The actress Letitia Wright highlighted the following about how they approached that whole issue:
We started connecting with Ryan about how we were going to step up, how all the characters were going to grow. Shuri is very sheltered in the first part, with her brother focused on honoring the legacy and she just wants to create. She adored her in the first movie because she had no limits and her family supported her. In the second we explore what it’s like to move on with a broken heart.
Another character very impacted by all this is Nakia, but Lupita Nyong’o Clarified that “Nakia is a little further along in her grieving process, but it’s not like she’s solved everything.“, further confessing that he was envious of Wright while reading the script because “she can be chaotic here“.
the new characters
On the other hand, the great novelty of the cast is the signing of Tenoch Huerta Mejía to give life to Namor, the great villain of the show. The actor himself acknowledged that it is always difficult to bring a character of this type to life, but also that they found a way to make it work:
You are going to destroy something vital within the story and for the people. A lot of people identify with Wakanda, myself included, but I had to play someone who wants to destroy that legacy. Ryan found a way to make it work, to make him human and justify why he does that kind of thing. It’s not so much an excuse as a reason why it happens. It’s beautiful because it’s human and we have two characters making different decisions with grief and threat.
The interpreter also revealed that one of the great difficulties with this movie was that “I didn’t know how to swim before doing it, but now I can hold my breath for 5 minutes“, highlighting in turn something that he considers essential in this sequel to ‘Black Panther’:
Now is the perfect time to talk about it. In Latin America, especially in Mexico, we denied our indigenous roots, because for us it is not a question of genes, but of culture. That differentiates us from the indigenous. Embracing those roots and honoring them is very important and I hope this helps people embrace who they are. Look in the mirror and say that what you see in the mirror is fine. We’ve been told to be ashamed of it, but it’s time to move on from that and accept who you are and assume there’s nothing wrong with you.
The other vital signing of the film is that of Dominic Thorne as Riri Williams, the character who will eventually become Ironheart. Unfortunately, she did not participate in the press conference, but Wright noted how much fun she had working with Williams:
It was fun. She’s doing great and I love that we get to see another young black girl who is a genius and is in school doing her thing. Some of my favorite scenes in the movie are with her and with Okoye. We had to take several breaks in the shoot because he’s in a corner cracking me up.
The female role
Finally, a very distinctive aspect of the film is that it has a strong female lead, something that the producer Nate Moore it is clear that it was not the result of a desired decision, but something that the film needed:
It was the right story to tell. They were the characters most affected by T’Challa’s death. It is not a question of giving more strength to women or removing presence from men. Sometimes some talk about agendas when it simply consists of telling good stories.
In this regard, the manager Ryan Coogler wanted to make it even clearer by pointing out that “when you lose someone there’s a blast radius and that’s what we explore. The identity of these characters were marked by him. Every day that she was alive, Shuri had a brother. When she loses it we discover that she loses a part of herself that identifies her. It is not a question of gender, but of who is affected more“.