Not much is known about Marvel’s upcoming ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, but that hasn’t stopped vibranium-powered rumour mills to spin frenetically over the sequel to the enormous hit of a first movie. Letitia Wright became a Marvel star with her performance in ‘Black Panther’ as Shuri, sister of T’Challa (titular hero played by Chadwick Boseman), and is rumoured to be taking up the mantle as the sequel’s eponymous superhero. Even if that’s not the case, Wright will certainly have a larger part in the next film.
After the tragic death of star Chadwick Boseman in August 2020 after a private battle with colon cancer, various members of the ‘Black Panther’ team have spoken about honouring his legacy in the sequel. However, fans are divided over the decision of his role of T’Challa not being recast, or digitally re-created.
The road to the sequel’s release has not been without headlines for Wright, who suffered an on-set injury and was the subject of a damaging report alleging that she was sharing anti-vaccine sentiments on the Atlanta production and that her refusal to get vaccinated was posing problems for Marvel. She denied that she was touting an anti-vax position on the set, calling the report “about my conduct” on the set “completely untrue.”
In an interview, Wright said the ‘Black Panther’ team faced “a lot of circumstances” and “difficult situations,” but that she is excited for fans to see how the sequel will honour Boseman’s legacy. Speaking on Sunday evening at Kering’s Women in Motion dinner at the Cannes Film Festival, Wright teased ‘Black Panther 2’ and spoke about what she learned throughout the pandemic, though did not address and was not asked about her vaccination stance.
“It is an incredible honour for Chadwick Boseman, it’s jam packed with exciting stuff,” Wright said. “We honoured him by committing ourselves to the story that he started, the legacy that he started with this franchise,” Wright continued. “And we just committed every day to working hard, no matter what circumstances we faced — and we faced a lot of circumstances, a lot of difficult situations — but we came together as a team, and we poured everything into this movie, so I’m excited for you to see it.”
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ will hit theatres on Nov. 11.
