WithBlack Panther: Wakanda Forevergearing up for its theatrical release, fans and the cast are feeling the loss of the franchise’s star Chadwick Boseman more and more. It was recently revealed byBlack Pantherdirector Ryan Coogler that Boseman’s passing left him questioning whether he should continue to work in the entertainment business.
Boseman, who starred as T’Challa and theBlack Panther, tragically lost his private battle with colon cancer in August 2020. The sequel in theBlack Pantherfranchise went on without Boseman, and Coogler and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige made the executive decision to notrecast the role of T’Challa forBlack Panther 2, deeming it to be “too soon” to do so, as many are still grieving the loss of Boseman, who was a role model and hero to so many.
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In a recent interview withEntertainment Weekly, Coogler opened up about how he struggled to grapple withthe loss of Boseman, and how he almost walked away from the entertainment business. He told Entertainment Weekly, “I was at a point when I was like, ‘I’m walking away from this business.” Coogler went on to say, “I didn’t know if I could make another movie period or anotherBlack Panthermovie, because it hurt a lot. I was like ‘Man, how could I open myself up to feeling like this again?'”
Coogler added that after feeling these emotions, he went back andlooked at footage of him with Boseman, who worked closely beside him during his creative process when crafting the firstBlack Pantherfilm. Looking back on these memories helped Coogler to dig deep and find passion once again when it came to his filmmaking career and his ability to continue telling stories about Wakanda not despite, but in power and triumph of what’s been lost in its wake. Coogler ultimately decided to return to do the sequelBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, telling Entertainment Weekly, “I decided that it made more sense to keep going.”
From the looks of the two trailers and the comments of the original cast andnewcomer Tenoch Huerta, who will play the film’s villain Namor,Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverwill honor Boseman’s legacy in more ways than one, as the heroic journey of Wakanda and its warriors will live on, forever.
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverwill debut in theaters on November 11th, 2022.
