Grab your tissue! The trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is finally here, and it serves up a rollercoaster of emotions.
The trailer dropped Saturday (July 23) while the cast attended San Diego Comic-Con International. In just two minutes, the trailer evokes a range of emotions. Black Panther fans have anticipated the sequel since the box office smash debuted in 2018. Chadwick Boseman portrayed the titular character. The actor passed away in 2020 after a years-long battle with colon cancer. He was 43.
In the months after Boseman’s passing, the sequel hung in the balance as questions about recasting his character were mulled over. Studio executives ultimately decided Boseman’s King T’Challa would not be recast, and he would not appear in the film with a digital double. Instead, the late actor’s absence was acknowledged. The film’s synopsis states, “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.”
While presenting the trailer at comic-con, Black Panther and Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler spoke about paying tribute to Boseman in the film. “His passion, his genius, his pride, and his culture, and the impact that he made on this industry we felt forever,” began Coogler. “We put our love to Chadwick into this film, but we also put, you know, our passion. This film has a ton of action, it has humor, it’s a roller coaster of a movie. It goes to new places in Wakanda that we haven’t seen before, but it also goes to new corners of the MCU,” he added.
In the trailer, Angela Basset, who portrays Queen Ramonda, is seen delivering a passionate line that further fuels emotions. “I am Queen of the most powerful nation in the world, and my entire family is gone! Have I not given everything,” said Bassett. The glimpse of the powerful scene coupled with Tems singing “No Woman No Cry” throughout the trailer stirred a flood of reactions on Twitter.
Wakanda Forever hits theaters in November. Check out fan reactions to the trailer below: