The journey to create Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was profoundly shaped by real-world tragedy. Initial development for the sequel began shortly after the immense success of the first film in 2018, with director Ryan Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole returning. The original concept was intended to be a deep-dive into T'Challa's psyche as a king, grappling with the five years he lost during the Blip and reconnecting with his son, Toussaint, whom he had never met. The story was framed as a father-son narrative, exploring the immense pressure of ruling Wakanda. This original vision was irrevocably altered by the tragic death of lead actor Chadwick Boseman from colon cancer in August 2020, a diagnosis he had kept private. The loss sent shockwaves through the cast, crew, and the world. Marvel Studios and Ryan Coogler faced the monumental task of how to proceed. After much deliberation, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced in December 2020 that the role of T'Challa would not be recast within the MCU, a decision made to honor Boseman's iconic and definitive portrayal. This creative pivot required a complete thematic and narrative overhaul. Coogler and Cole rewrote the script to directly incorporate the loss of T'Challa into the story. The central question of the film became: How does Wakanda, a nation defined by its protector, move forward without him? The screenplay was transformed into an exploration of grief, with each of the returning characters processing their loss in different ways. The focus shifted to Princess Shuri, making her journey of sorrow, anger, and eventual acceptance the film's emotional core. Production, which commenced in June 2021, also faced delays and challenges due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and an on-set injury sustained by star Letitia Wright, but the cast and crew persevered, driven by a collective mission to create a film that would serve as a fitting tribute to their fallen friend and king.
The film's emotional weight is carried by the powerhouse performances of its returning cast, who portray a nation's leadership in crisis.
One of the film's most significant achievements is the introduction of Namor, played by Tenoch Huerta Mejía. This marked the MCU debut of one of Marvel Comics' oldest characters, first appearing in 1939. However, Coogler dramatically reimagined his origins.
Wakanda Forever also serves as the formal introduction of Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams. A 19-year-old genius student at MIT, Riri has independently created a suit of armor rivaling the technology of Tony Stark.
The film opens with a desperate Shuri attempting to synthetically recreate the Heart-Shaped Herb to save a gravely ill King T'Challa, but she is too late. The film transitions to the solemn and visually stunning Wakandan funeral for their king. One year later, Wakanda is under immense political pressure. At the United Nations, Queen Ramonda forcefully rebukes other nations for attempting to steal their vibranium resources, revealing a captured group of French mercenaries who failed in their attempt. Meanwhile, the U.S. government, using a machine designed by Riri Williams, deploys a massive deep-sea platform to mine vibranium from the Atlantic Ocean floor. This intrusion awakens the warriors of Talokan. Led by Namor, they swiftly and devastatingly attack the platform. Blaming Wakanda for creating a global arms race for vibranium, Namor travels to Wakanda. Bypassing all their advanced defenses, he confronts Ramonda and Shuri, delivering an ultimatum: deliver the scientist responsible for the vibranium detector, or Talokan will wage war on Wakanda.
Shuri and Okoye track Riri Williams to her MIT campus, arriving just as the FBI, led by Everett Ross, attempts to arrest her. After a thrilling chase through the city, they escape with Riri and plan to return to Wakanda. However, they are ambushed by Namor's warriors, Attuma and Namora. Okoye is defeated, and Shuri and Riri are taken captive to Talokan. In the breathtaking underwater city, Namor shows Shuri his kingdom's history, explaining how a vibranium-laced plant transformed his people and how Spanish conquistadors, carrying smallpox, drove them into the sea centuries ago. He sees a kindred spirit in Shuri and a potential ally in Wakanda, proposing they join forces to destroy the surface world that has historically oppressed and threatened them both. Back in Wakanda, a shamed Okoye is stripped of her rank as General by a furious Queen Ramonda. Ramonda then seeks out Nakia in Haiti, who agrees to help rescue Shuri. Nakia successfully infiltrates Talokan and escapes with Shuri and Riri, but in the process, she kills a Talokanil guard. Enraged by this act, Namor launches a full-scale assault on Wakanda's capital. He unleashes a catastrophic flood, causing immense destruction. In the ensuing chaos, Namor confronts Ramonda and Riri. Ramonda makes the ultimate sacrifice, drowning while saving Riri's life.
Devastated by the loss of her mother and consumed by a desire for vengeance, Shuri focuses all her scientific prowess on one goal: becoming the Black Panther. Using a bracelet given to her by Namor that contained remnants of the vibranium plant, she is able to synthetically recreate the Heart-Shaped Herb. She ingests it and travels to the Ancestral Plane. Instead of her mother or brother, she is met by the spirit of her cousin, N'Jadaka (Erik Killmonger). He validates her rage and encourages her to be a ruthless leader, to kill Namor. Shuri designs a new, silver-and-black Panther suit and prepares Wakanda for war. She gives Okoye and fellow Dora Milaje member Aneka new suits of powered armor, christening them the Midnight Angels. The final battle takes place aboard the American vibranium-mining vessel. Using a massive sonic weapon, the Wakandans manage to draw Namor and his warriors out of the water. Shuri isolates Namor, luring him into her Royal Talon Fighter's heat-blasting engines, which severely dehydrate and weaken him. On a deserted beach, a brutal fight ensues. Shuri, fueled by vengeance, gains the upper hand and is poised to deliver a killing blow. But as she sees a vision of her mother, she remembers T'Challa's legacy of mercy. She chooses a different path, sparing Namor's life and offering him an alliance. She demands he yield, and in return, she promises that Wakanda will protect Talokan's secrecy from the surface world. Namor agrees. Though some Wakandans, like M'Baku, are wary of this truce, they accept Shuri as their new Black Panther. Back in Talokan, Namor reveals to Namora that yielding was a strategic move; now, when the surface world eventually comes for Wakanda, they will have the most powerful nation on Earth as their ally.
Wakanda Forever is arguably the MCU's most mature film thematically.
Shuri's transformation is the heart of the film. Initially, we see her as a shadow of her former self, the brilliant, quippy princess replaced by a solemn scientist crippled by the failure to save her brother. Her journey is defined by loss: first T'Challa, then her mother, Queen Ramonda. This second loss pushes her to the brink, channeling her immense intellect into a weapon of vengeance. The decision to make her the new Black Panther was a natural one, reflecting a key storyline from the comics. However, the film wisely complicates this ascent. Her power is born not just of duty, but of rage. Her confrontation with Killmonger in the Ancestral Plane is a masterful sequence, externalizing her internal struggle. In the end, her arc is not about becoming a perfect hero, but about a young woman learning to carry an impossible weight, process unimaginable grief, and make the difficult choice to lead with mercy, not malice.
The MCU's Namor is a triumph of character adaptation. He is presented not as a one-dimensional villain but as a tragic anti-hero and a revolutionary leader. His motivation is pure: the protection of his people at any cost. Tenoch Huerta Mejía's performance imbues him with a quiet intensity, royal gravitas, and a deep-seated pain. He is a direct ideological counterpoint to T'Challa. Where T'Challa chose to open Wakanda to the world to build a better future, Namor believes the only way to ensure his people's safety is to preemptively strike against a world that will inevitably seek to conquer them. His history, rooted in the real-world horrors of colonialism, gives his aggression a tragic and understandable logic. He is, in many ways, what Killmonger could have been: a revolutionary with a nation at his back. The uneasy truce he forms with Shuri sets him up as a major, morally complex power player for the MCU's future.
While Shuri's journey is central, the film is an ensemble piece carried by its powerful female characters.
This early scene sets the geopolitical stage. Ramonda, dressed in white mourning robes, addresses the UN council with controlled fury. She calls out the hypocrisy of nations feigning friendship while trying to steal Wakanda's most precious resource. The scene climaxes with the Dora Milaje silently entering the chamber, escorting a group of captured French soldiers, proving that Wakanda is not vulnerable. It's a powerful statement about post-colonial defiance and a masterclass in political theater, establishing Ramonda as one of the MCU's most formidable leaders.
Namor's attack on the capital city is a terrifying display of his power. It's not a conventional battle but a natural disaster weaponized. The sequence is harrowing, culminating in the flooding of the throne room. Ramonda's final act is one of pure maternal instinct, giving her life to save Riri Williams, a girl she barely knows but whom she recognizes as a child in need of protection. This moment is the film's emotional turning point, robbing Shuri of her last familial anchor and pushing her toward the abyss of vengeance.
This is a pivotal, shocking moment that defies audience expectations. After taking the synthetic herb, Shuri expects to see her mother or brother. Instead, she finds herself facing Erik Killmonger. Michael B. Jordan's cameo is electrifying. He acts as the devil on her shoulder, arguing that their shared royal blood and thirst for vengeance make them allies. He preys on her anger, telling her that T'Challa was too noble and that she must be the leader Wakanda truly needs—one willing to kill its enemies without hesitation. The scene brilliantly externalizes Shuri's inner turmoil and sets the stakes for her final decision.
In a quiet, emotional mid-credits scene, Shuri travels to Haiti to visit Nakia and perform the final mourning ritual for T'Challa. There, Nakia introduces Shuri to a young boy. His name is Toussaint, but he reveals his Wakandan name is T'Challa. He is the son of King T'Challa and Nakia. They chose to raise him away from the pressures of the throne, allowing him a normal childhood. This reveal is a powerful emotional coda, ensuring that T'Challa's bloodline continues and providing a potential future heir for the throne of Wakanda and the Black Panther mantle, while allowing Shuri to carry it for the foreseeable future.
Shuri becoming the Black Panther is directly inspired by the comics. During writer Reginald Hudlin's run in 2009, Doctor Doom attacks T'Challa and leaves him in a comatose state. With Wakanda needing its protector, Shuri undergoes the trials and ingests the Heart-Shaped Herb to become the new Black Panther and Queen of Wakanda. The film adapts the core concept but changes the circumstances from incapacitation to death, adding a much deeper layer of grief and personal motivation to Shuri's ascension.
The reimagining of Namor's kingdom is the film's biggest and most successful deviation from the source material.