There was a movement to #RecastTChalla for a while, but Marvel Studios had decided to kill the character off in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with Shuri (Letitia Wright) taking over as the BP. With the direction of the third movie unclear, rumor is going around that Marvel is already planning for their next T’Challa.
According to The InSneider (via @HollywoodHandle), Marvel Studios is already in the process of finding a new T’Challa for the next Avengers movies, and he could possibly lead Black Panther 3. It’s not clear how exactly they want to pull this off, but Wakanda Forever had already sowed the seeds of the next T’Challa by revealing that he and Nakia had a son of the same name.
Though they could just easily have T’Challa Jr. take over, his arc would have to go back to zero, being a younger Black Panther that has to rule over Wakanda. With Secret Wars allegedly tackling a multiverse storyline, it’s possible that they can just reset by the end of the film and have a new actor take on the role of the same T’Challa that was introduced in Civil War.
Then again, I’m not sure how Letitia Wright is going to feel being cast as the new Panther, then having it be taken away from her in the next film.
Personally, I was all for recasting after Boseman’s death, but it’s kind of understandable how Marvel Studios and the filmmakers had to deal with Boseman’s passing; while at the same time being under pressure to deliver another blockbuster film.
We don’t know what the future holds for Black Panther, but I can’t wait to see T’Challa back on the big screen.
]]>Though no new trailer was released during The Game Awards, director Amy Hennig (Uncharted) does reveal what to expect from the game when it eventually comes out. Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Hennig says about Rise of Hydra:
“It led us to do a bunch of interesting things… one of which was to not only tell a story with a young Steve Rogers who’s still trying to find his feet, as opposed to the more seasoned guy that we’ve seen in a lot of the films. It also let us introduce a new Black Panther of 1943.”
With the Indiana Jones game being such a hit with critics this year, it does seem like Rise of Hydra is also going to be a globe-trotting adventure that would also explore several locations—one of them being the secret nation of Wakanda. Hennig continues:
“Wakanda at this point in time is hidden away from the outside world and protected by this impenetrable jungle,” she explains. “They are non-interventionist, but events transpire that pull them into the conflict. They have to protect their interests. The world is getting smaller. No satellites yet, but there will be soon. You can shoot down planes that maybe want to fly over Wakanda, but how long can you stay in the shadows?”
Hennig goes on to explain the conflict between Black Panther and Captain America, who seem to be teaming up to face a common enemy. She says they are “confronting the same enemies and they’re concerned about the same events that are transpiring, but they’re initially almost working against each other. Good people have to work together to overcome evil. If you separate, then you’re not going to succeed.”
Hennig had directed the first three Uncharted games, so it can be easy to guess that Rise of Hydra is going to be a cinematic action-platformer. Of course, she could go a different direction with this game, but the Marvel brand does promise spectacle, and why else would they hire Hennig if they weren’t expecting that from this game?
No release date has been set for Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, but it is expected to launch sometime next year.
]]>Check this video out:
From a single Vibranium meteorite, Wakanda rose to greatness. Now, at the heart of the galaxy, they’ve uncovered the homeland of that very mound.
But no matter how far it’s technology advances, Wakanda’s strength will always be its people.
Though Wakanda is considered a secret nation in multiple versions of the Marvel Universe, this one goes the opposite and gives the Wakandans an actual empire built on the original source of Vibranium.
Black Panther is the last character Marvel fans would think would cross over with space, but Marvel’s. What If…? gave us a look at a T’Challa variant that would become Star-Lord in his alternate reality.
We don’t know the backstory of this Wakanda in Marvel Rivals yet, but the title pretty much explains the whole ‘alternate reality’-ness of it. I’m just interested to see what kind of Black Panther this Wakanda has spawned. Though I expect him to be a benevolent leader, I’m not opposed to mirror versions of a character that somehow became evil because of different circumstances—just like what they did with DC’s Flashpoint Paradox.
Marvel Rivals launches on Dec. 6 for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC.
]]>While several celebrities have come out online to show their support for Harris, one celeb’s tweet is going viral because it was the final thing he tweeted before he died.
Fans have pointed out that Black Panther Chadwick Boseman’s final tweet was him endorsing Kamala Harris back in 2020. Check this out:
https://twitter.com/chadwickboseman/status/1293330682119421953
Fans have even found a clip of Harris herself doing the Wakanda salute:
— Tiffany (@TuffTiffResists) August 29, 2020
Though there had been a lot of doubt when it came to Biden running for president, there has been resounding applause that Harris would now be picked to run for president instead. Besides the fact that Harris is a POC woman running for president, her track record as a prosecutor and vice president have also proven that she’s more than capable to run for president for the Democratic Party.
Harris released a statement after Biden’s endorsement:
“I am honoured to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination. Over the past year, I have travelled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.
“We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”
The 2024 US Elections take place on Nov. 5.
]]>We don’t know when Marvel’s first mutant could appear again, but it’s possible that he could be coming back in the spotlight soon. According to insider Daniel RPK (via @screentime) a solo Namor project is in the works.
It’s not specified whether it would be a TV series or film, but it’s expected that the story will revolve around the same antagonist that MCU fans were introduced to in Wakanda Forever.
In the MCU continuity, Namor doesn’t rule Atlantis, but an underwater city called Talokan. Just like Wakanda, Talokan was also the site of a Vibranium meteor that arrived from space, resulting in advanced technology used by the local Talokanil.
We don’t know what a story about Namor could be, but it’s possible that we could see him reaching out to the surface world, seeing that has spent a huge chunk of the MCU timeline just hiding Talokan. I would have loved there to have been a secret team-up between him Captain America and the original Human Torch since they did make up the anti-Nazi group ‘The Invaders’ in the comics—maybe there’s room to team-up with Sam Wilson’s Cap?
It’s just a pitch.
For now, a Namor solo project has not been officially announced.
]]>According to the InSneider (via @ScreenTime) it’s possible that Peele has already met with Marvel to direct an upcoming MCU film. We don’t have much details about what Peele could be directing, but looking at his filmography, it’s possible that he could be directing something with a black character in the spotlight.
Already everyone is speculating that Peele could be in line to direct the upcoming Blade reboot which has been having a lot of trouble getting off the ground, but so far, it looks like director Yann Demange is still attached to the helm.
I would think that he would love to take on Black Panther, but it’s likely that Marvel Studios wants to stick with Ryan Coogler at the helm; but if Coogler would want to step down, maybe Peele could be a good replacement moving forward.
Personally, I would love for Peele to have his own original take on Luke Cage. We got a version of Luke Cage played by Mike Colter thanks to Netflix, but there has been a lot of criticism for that take not being ‘black enough’—another way to say that the Netflix version took away the grit and street-level attitude that made Cage a unique creation; and turned him into this more generally unoffending superhero.
I mean, if they won’t let Tarantino make his Luke Cage movie, Peele would probably be the best choice to make a commentary on a black superhero that’s not as noble as Black Panther.
Then again, that’s just my pitch. Until we get an official announcement, whatever Peele and Marvel met about will be completely between them.
In the meantime, we’ll just have to wait.
]]>We know that there was a Black Panther/Captain America game in the works for a while, but now Skydance New Media has given us our first look at the upcoming Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra. Check out the story trailer:
Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra – In the chaos of war, worlds collide. Skydance New Media and Marvel Games share an original story where an ensemble of four heroes must overcome their differences and form an uneasy alliance to confront their common enemy.
The four playable characters of the game include Steve Rogers/Captain America, the Black Panther Azzuri (T’Challa’s grandfather), US soldier/Howling Commando Gabriel Jones, and Wakandan spy Nanali.
Besides the IP, probably the biggest hook of this game is that it’s being directed by Amy Hennig, the creative director behind the first three Uncharted games. We don’t have a look at the gameplay yet, but we should expect Rise of Hydra to be a platformer/shooter with just a little bit of puzzle solving.
Hopefully we get the gameplay reveal soon, but for now, I’m just excited to enter a different era of the Marvel franchise. After the modern settings of Spider-Man and the Avengers game, I want to explore more of the IPs alternate reality.
No specific release date has been announced for Rise of Hydra, but we should expect the game to launch sometime in 2025.
]]>According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ironheart, which had completed all its production before the strike, has been pulled from its fall release and currently doesn’t have a release window. We don’t know when the series could come out, but it would probably be dependent on the currently ongoing strikes.
If anything, Marvel has done a complete re-shuffle of their series, with Echo set to come out next year as well as X-Men ’97. Agatha: Coven of Chaos was also set to come out this winter, but now they’ve pushed the series back to next fall, and the show has also had its name changed to Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.
The only show that is managing to keep its 2023 release window is Loki Season 2 which is still coming out in October. Besides that, it looks like the only other show that is coming out later this year is the second season of What If…? which we haven’t even got a teaser for yet.
Going back to Ironheart though, we don’t know the exact reason for the delay, but a lot of fans are hoping that it doesn’t suffer the same fate as DC’s Batgirl and gets cancelled completely even after production had finished.
Hopefully Marvel provides an update soon.
Watch out for Loki 2 when it releases on Disney+ on Oct. 6.
]]>Check this out:
Langston Belton talks with Geoffrey Baumann, Visual Effects Supervisor for Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Ryan Meinerding, Head of Visual Development for Marvel Studios, about the collaborative process of designing Namor’s wings and creating a realistic flight motion for Namor, which was inspired by both birds and professional athletes.
Any engineer or creature designer would tell you that Namor’s winged feet won’t really help him fly the way he does in the movie, but you have to hand it to the team for trying to find a realistic way for him to move, copying the movement of birds and even helicopters.
One designs aspect about the wings I also loved was that they made a kind of rattlesnake sound when they fluttered, so the ‘feather serpent god’ title makes a lot of sense.
So far, Namor is one of the most celebrated characters in Wakanda Forever, and a lot of fans are eager to see him back in future MCU films. We don’t know if he’ll get his own solo movie, but I would love for him to be a neutral party in whatever conflict is coming to the MCU down the line.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now streaming on Disney+.
]]>As per The Direct, it has been confirmed that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever comes to Disney+ on Friday, January 20. This would have been after 70 days since it premiered in theaters back on Nov. 11, 2022.
Besides the movie itself, we should also expect some special features like commentary and maybe even a look at the deleted scenes. I’m sure there are also going to be some more tributes for Chadwick Boseman, besides the movie itself.
I have to admit, Ryan Coogler was backed into a corner after Boseman died, but this movie managed to pull off being a proper sendoff to Boseman while at the same time being an entertaining comic book blockbuster. Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long until the next film, but even then I wonder how they expect to move forward with Shuri as the new Panther and M’Baku being the new king of Wakanda.
Here’s the official synopsis for Wakanda Forever:
Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with Nakia and Everett Ross to forge a new path for their beloved kingdom.
Catch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever when it comes to Disney+ on Jan. 20.
]]>In a recent interview with The New York Times (via IndieWire), director Ryan Coogler reveals that it would have been a father-son story that would have focused on T’Challa dealing with having a son after returning from the Blip. Coogler explains:
“It was going to be a father-son story from the perspective of a father, because the first movie had been a father-son story from the perspective of the sons… In the script, T’Challa was a dad who’d had this forced five-year absence from his son’s life. The first scene was an animated sequence. You hear Nakia [Lupita Nyong’o] talking to Toussaint. She says, ‘Tell me what you know about your father.’ You realize that he doesn’t know his dad was the Black Panther. He’s never met him, and Nakia is remarried to a Haitian dude. Then, we cut to reality and it’s the night that everybody comes back from the Blip. You see T’Challa meet the kid for the first time.”
Coogler confirms that the conflict would have still included Namor and Talokan, but everything would be from the perspective of T’Challa’s son. Coogler continues:
“The movie was about a summer that the kid spends with his dad. For his eighth birthday, they do a ritual where they go out into the bush and have to live off the land. But something happens and T’Challa has to go save the world with his son on his hip. That was the movie.”
We can’t tell what specifically changed for the story, but I can imagine the conflict with Talokan is the same with them wanting the governments to stop looking for Vibranium and forcing Wakanda into a corner.
I guess you have to commend Coogler for being able to write around that plot after Boseman’s death, and have it be a fitting send off for him. It’s even interesting how he was able to work in the love child subplot.
For now, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is expected to release on Disney+ sometime in January 2023.
]]>Talking to Newsweek, Michael P. Shawver has confirmed, “There were takes where there was some connection there…and at one point in an early cut we discussed like, ‘Hey, do we leave it there? Do we just put it out there? Let’s just add some complexity to the relationship.”
Even before the film was released, it was kind of teased that Namor was a seductive character, and it kind of shows with how the character interacts with the queen, and then with Shuri when they arrive in Talokan.
Even the moment where Namor hands Shuri his mother’s bracelet was supposed to be some kind of engagement proposal. “Honestly, we’ve got to keep ourselves sane and laugh a lot, especially with the tougher moments or the serious moments, so we would always joke that when he gave her that bracelet they were married now, and she didn’t know it,” said Shawver.
In the end, they decided to drop the more obvious romance plot and just focused on the shared trauma of both Shuri and Namor. Shawver continues:
“What we ultimately focused on was Namor’s line where he says ‘only the most damaged people can be truly great leaders, and that’s planting the seed of the shared trauma that she realizes at the end [of the film].”
Though there are some fans that thought that there was nothing between Shuri and Namor, there are some who did catch that a romance was being hinted at. Personally, I’m all for the romance, seeing that it just adds to the whole complexity of Shuri’s feelings for Namor, but I guess that can be explored somewhere down the line.
Catch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever now in theaters.
]]>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.
]]>Talking to Rolling Stone, writer Joe Robert Cole had confirmed that characters like Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and even M’Baku (Winston Duke) were considered for the next protector of Wakanda. The site reveals:
Joe Robert Cole: “We would kick around the ideas, and try to extrapolate where the story goes and what’s the most impactful choice — what’s the best journey? And where do you go after the film in terms of those characters. M’Baku certainly was someone that got kicked around a little bit. I think you’re correct because in the comics, Shuri is Black Panther and there’s a natural organicness, I guess is the best way to say it, to her becoming Panther. But you kick the tires on all sorts of ideas. And you just want to make the best decision and do what’s best for the story.”
Rolling Stone: “Nakia [Lupita Nyong’o] could’ve been great, too.”
Cole: “That got kicked around! Her name got kicked around for sure.”
When it came to picking Shuri, Cole said that it was the most ‘organic’ choice for the story, and the team knew very well that Letitia Wright had the acting chops to pull off the character in the spotlight.
Personally, my bet was that Angela Bassett’s Queen Ramonda would take the Black Panther mantle, given her impressive physicality, but I guess Shuri was written pretty well for the sequel, despite being one of the corniest characters in the first movie.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now screening in theaters.
]]>
As confirmed by Winston Duke in an interview with Esquire (via Looper), it’s his character M’Baku that ends up becoming the ruler of Wakanda. “Yeah, it’s kind of cool though being revealed as the king of Wakanda at the end of the movie,” Duke says, “So whatever that entails, that’s gonna be a fun one.”
To be clear, being Black Panther doesn’t mean you are immediately the ruler of Wakanda. T’Challa was already Panther in Civil War while his father was king. So now, the role of Panther belongs to Shuri, and she forfeits the leadership role by being absent during the ‘Challenge Day’ scene in the end of Wakanda Forever.
It’s kind of odd that M’Baku should become the king, seeing as he was a sub-antagonist in the first movie who wanted the throne for the Jabari tribe. Despite that, I guess he has grown as a character over the past few years, and it would be great to see M’Baku go on his own journey as he takes on the mantle of king.
For now, Marvel has sown seeds for T’Challa’s son to someday take on the throne of Wakanda, but that story might take place in the next ten years. Who knows, maybe Secret Wars can push the timeline forward and have another young T’Challa back in the spotlight, but who knows what Marvel is planning.
Catch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever now in theaters.
]]>Comparing shots from promo materials and the actual movie, it’s been revealed that Marvel had digitally shrunk Namor’s bulge so that it wouldn’t be so prominent onscreen. Check this out:
GIVE NAMOR HIS PENIS BACK pic.twitter.com/t5cdrtf0HC
— soup ☆ ☻ !! loves libras (real) (@belovasoup) November 15, 2022
With the kid audience also being considered for a movie like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it’s pretty understandable that Marvel didn’t want anyone to get… distracted by Namor’s bluge. If anything, this is an age-old practice when it comes to movies. It was said that they had to alter Brandon Routh’s bulge in Superman Returns because it was distractingly large.
The way the internet is, I can already imagine some people starting some kind of silly hashtag like #ReleaseThePenisCut or #FreeNamorsJunk, but so far, everyone is just having a laugh that the studio had to go that far just to make sure nothing seemed inappropriate with the film.
Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with Nakia and Everett Ross to forge a new path for their beloved kingdom.
Catch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever now in theaters.
]]>Talking to producer Nate Moore, Collider asked what scenes were cut from the movie, and Moore confirmed, “I think there’s a spectrum. There’s some from the Director’s Cut that didn’t make it forward. There’s some that we played with for a long time, and screened, and screened multiple times. We’re notorious for tinkering a lot in editorial and trying things.”
We don’t have a specific breakdown of scenes that were cut, but it’s said that Okoye was supposed to have the spotlight after she was removed from her position, and she would react to the Dora Milaje’s new general and figure out what she was going to do with herself moving forward.
Personally, I was kind of hoping we got more of that teased romance between Shuri and Namor, because I don’t think we’ve ever got an antagonist that was also a romantic interest of the main hero in an MCU film before.
At this point, Marvel Studios isn’t really one to release ‘Director’s Cuts’, save for Spider-Man: No Way Home, but that seemed like a Sony choice to release. Though we may not get a release of Coogler’s ‘Director’s Cut’ of Wakanda Forever, some deleted scenes could still make it to the general audience. “I don’t know that we’ll ever assemble it – I’ll never say never,” continued Moore, “I don’t think we’ll assemble it into a longer Director’s Cut. But certainly, I think there’s ways to get those scenes out there in the world without building an extended edition.”
For now, you can catch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever now in theaters.
]]>The movie is already rehashing Namor’s story by making him a rule of Talokan rather than Atlantis, and director Ryan Coogler goes on to talk about how he stands up against other figures in the MCU. Talking to Marvel, Coogler explains:
“[There’s] no equal in terms of his capabilities, being able to breathe underwater and breathe at high altitudes and walk around on land. He’s incredibly strong, he’s as strong as Thor, and if he’s around enough water he can be as strong as the Hulk.”
Of course, we’re not expecting to see Namor clash with any of those heroes in the film. The big clash with him is going to be with whoever the next Panther is going to be. Some guess that it would definitely be Shuri, but I’m guessing we could be looking at multiple characters taking on the mantle. What are the odds of Queen Ramonda being in the suit?
Going back to Namor though, the character has always been considered to be sort of a semi-antagonist, especially when it comes to matters of the surface world. Producer Nate Moore explains the character:
“Here is a man who believes 100% that he is the hero in his own story… He doesn’t see himself as a villain because in Namor’s eyes what he is doing he’s doing to protect a people who have already made it through a tragic history.”
It’s a shame we won’t see the clash of the two kings, but I have no doubt Coogler will still deliver a crowd-pleasing Marvel film.
Catch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever when it hits theaters on Nov. 11.
]]>This comes from Jimmy Kimmel Live! (the clip starts at 0:11):
Though the previews have generally shown Namor as a hostile entity, here we actually see a bit of humanity in him, in a sense that he’s so amazed at Wakanda and how well-preserved the environment is. We don’t really know what kind of beef he has with the kingdom, but it shouldn’t be good if we’re looking at a war between the two.
Admittedly, it is a shame that we won’t get to watch Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa clash with the Submariner, but hopefully they give whoever the next Panther is a proper arc when it comes to this sequel. Though it’s pretty obvious that Shuri could be the next Black Panther, I’m on the theory that we might actually get to see multiple Black Panthers in the film, settling with one final character to take on the mantle.
Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with Nakia and Everett Ross to forge a new path for their beloved kingdom.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to hit theaters on Nov. 11.
]]>According to Deadline, Sacha Baron Cohen has been spotted on the set of Ironheart, and there is word going around that he’s going to be playing Mephisto for the MCU. Nothing official has been confirmed as of yet, but the speculation is that Cohen will take a major part as Mephisto in the upcoming WandaVision spinoff Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
With Marvel kind of becoming this machine that pumps out generally enjoyable material, I’m kind of sceptical that someone like Cohen, who is so used to his shock value and offensive material, would join their fold. If anything, I’m sure there’s a hefty paycheck in it for Cohen, but I am hoping that he has a very interesting take on comic book Satan. I mean, we already have sexy Satan in Lucifer, but how else could they modernize the character without offending any conservatives in the audience?
Cohen has not been officially confirmed for the MCU yet, but if rumors are to be believed, we should watch out for him when Ironheart soars into Disney+ in late 2023. You can catch Ironheart in her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which hits theaters Nov. 11.
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