Black Panther: Wakanda Forever perfectly honors the late Chadwick Boseman. Here, the cast talks about his influence on this film.
How Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Honors Chadwick Boseman
It was extremely important to everyone involved in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that it honor the legacy of Chadwick Boseman and of T’Challa. During the press conference for the film, the cast and filmmakers reflect on the influence that Chadwick, and his passing, had on the film.
Kevin Feige
Marvel President Kevin Feige says that the shock of Chadwick Boseman’s death turned into the question of what do they do — what should they do. “Should we do anything? Relatively soon it was determined that this amazing ensemble of characters, and this world that had been created on screen, needed to continue.”
He explains that Ryan Coogler pours all of himself into everything he does, and that he had been working for almost a year on a version of the movie with T’Challa in it. “Then, when we lost Chad, all of that, obviously was then poured into this movie. Keeping the idea of a celebration of Wakanda, and the character, at the forefront, in addition to the grief that of course is going to come with it.”
Nate Moore
Producer Nate Moore says that as storytellers you want to be as honest as possible with what the characters would experience. In this case, that is the loss of T’Challa — and it is not just grief.
“It’s sometimes Joy, sometimes humor. It is all of the emotions anyone feels with any profound loss. But we had such a collection of talent and such a collection of characters who all have a different point of view with that loss, that I think Ryan found ways to express all the different colors of grief through the the ensemble. And that’s not just the Wakandans by the way, who definitely feel it, but it’s the loss Namor and the Talokan feel because of the loss of their homeland. Ryan was savvy enough as a filmmaker and storyteller, to weave on all those themes across the entirety of the film, which is why, hopefully, the film will be powerful for people.”
When asked about the men stepping back and the women stepping forward in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, he explains that this was not done for an agenda, it was done for good storytelling. “It was the right story to tell. These were the characters who were most affected by T’Challa’s passing. And so we focused on the people who were appropriate.” He adds, “It’s not about pushing women forward or holding men back. It’s about telling the story that is organic. And I think sometimes, maybe from the outside, there’s a thought that there are agendas at play. It’s just telling good stories.”
Moore says that if they wedged in some new male characters, just to have that voice, it would have seemed more performative than just telling the story they told.
Letitia Wright
Letitia Wright plays Shuri, T’Challa’s little sister. His protector. Her and Chadwick Boseman grew very close on the set of the first Black Panther and his death was a deep loss for her. She says that in order to get into the right mindset, she connected with Ryan through a heart to heart conversation of how they take a gentle step forward.
“Ryan talking me through how the different characters, how the world, was going to expand a bit, but also how we were going to grow. We all take so much different turns. And Shuri does too. We meet her in the first film, and she is that ray of sunshine, she’s so clothed and protected in royalty and love. And proud of her big brother taking this step, following in his father’s legacy, and she just wants to create.” Wright says that there was no limit to Shuri in the first Black Panther.
“She was the person her brother went to for his protection. Her family encouraged her to be a genius and to be fearfully and wonderfully made. So we follow on from that. What does that look like? When your heart is broken? Ryan’s guidance on how do we create a full arc for this human being — this young woman going through something alongside her fellow family members and Wakandans.”
She says the delicacy in the way it was written, and the gentleness of how they approached it is something they always spoke about. They communicated every step of the way and because of that, they were able to bring something that felt real and truthful. “I was able to really give my heart to it. And give Shuri a full arc. And hopefully people can really resonate with that and maybe find some healing, alongside us with it.”
Lupita Nyong’o
Lupita Nyong’o, who plays Nakia, recalls reading the script and being envious of Letitia because she gets to be chaotic. “That’s how I felt. I felt raw and I wanted to express it.” But that wouldn’t be true to Nakia. “She is an example of someone whose just a little further along, in terms of her processing. And it’s not like she has it all figured out.”
Nyong’o explains that “in the first film Ryan described her as T’Challa’s oasis and that really, really resonated with me. So when I was reading the script and thinking about where she is, I realized that what she once was for T’Challa, she now has the opportunity to offer Shuri. And it made a lot of sense in terms of the structure and architecture of the story, when we’re talking about exploration of grief. It’s really grounding to have someone who is befriending of the change for the people in the story, but also for an audience. The fact that she was T’Challa’s love. In a way I guess it allows an audience to know that it’s okay.”
She says that she was frustrated with Ryan at first but that ultimately playing Nakia in this way was therapeutic for her. “I had to look beyond my frustrations with losing Chadwick and learn from her. Learn from that wisdom that she seems to possess.”
Danai Gurira
Danai Gurira, who plays Okoye, says that she also was upset with Ryan for how he wrote her character at first. She explains that there were two sides to her. One that was like, do we have to? and one that understood the story and realized how great it was what they did with her. “I’m very thankful for the idea that these characters get to explore so many facets of their humanness. I think that is something that is crucial, honestly, with the platform. What’s unprecedented is that we see the kaleidoscope of their humaneness. And the world gets to see that.”
She says that she was able to include her personal experience with the loss of their brother, Chadwick Boseman, into her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. “I was going through the story. So the key thing anchoring me was the goal of honoring him. And the way he loved. He loved excellently. He loved to see us shine and loved to see us do our thing. And we would go to him and say, What do you think about this? What do you think about my character? And he would always give us so much encouragement about doing great things, and he had such great taste.”
Ryan Coogler
Director Ryan Coogler talks about the choices he made with this script. Who would be at the forefront of that story and what that would look like. And he roots it all back to how real life works.
“When when you lose somebody, there’s a blast radius. It’s like a bomb that goes off and who was the closest to it? That’s who we explored in the main characters. Their identities were wrapped up in this man, is the truth of it. Every day Shuri was alive she had her brother. So when she lost him, what we discovered while we were working on the script, and then eventually bringing it to life with it with actors, was that she really lost her sense of self.”
Shuri saw herself as T’Challa’s little sister. As his protector. As the person who looks out for him. So when she loses that, she loses everything. “The tricky thing about that is, Death comes for everybody. And the worst nightmare that you could have is if something were to happen to you, the people who you love and leave behind will be lost after you are gone. So we were exploring all of those things.”
When it comes to the women of Wakanda being most effected, he adds, “it wasn’t really about gender. It was about who will be most affected.”
See for yourself how Black Panther: Wakanda Forever honors Chadwick Boseman’s memory when it comes to theaters on November 11th.
NEXT: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever First Reactions Are In!
About Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
In 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. When Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, alerts them to a global threat and his disturbing plan to thwart it, the Wakandans band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters everywhere on November 11, 2022.
