With the death of Chadwick Boseman, the future of the Black Panther franchise had been put into question, and everyone was wondering where it would go moving forward. Wakanda Forever places Shuri as the new protector of Wakanda, but fa recent fan pitch from Shaun Harrison is getting attention online.
Harrison has dropped some concept for a Black Panther prequel called Bashenga: The First Black Panther, and it has John Boyega in the titular role. Check it out:
Concepted a New Disney/Marvel release Bashenga: The First Black Panther. And it’s taking off so let me post here… drop below to see more images pic.twitter.com/m613vqw8uo
— Shaun Harrison (@shaun_harrison) November 26, 2022
Harrison’s pitch essentially brings us to the origin of Wakanda, with the first Black Panther coming to power. We actually get this story told to us in the first movie:
You have to hand it for Harrison for really going out with this pitch. I don’t know if he has any meetings with Marvel, but there’s an entire thread full of concept art for the different Wakandan tribes with thought out choices for a director, composer, and other cast members. It’s even great how he was able to incorporate the Eternal Phastos (Bryan Tyree Henry) into the story. Of course, it would make sense that he would help the Wakandans harness the Vibranium. Maybe it was his meddling here that made him decide to stop messing with human affairs.
While I’m sure Black Panther is Shuri’s story now, it would be great if Marvel would consider where this property can go. We’ve yet to get this kind of stand-alone story in the MCU, and it would be great to add some more to the franchise’s lore onscreen.
For now, you can watch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever now screening in theaters.
