Disney's highly anticipated Black Panther sequel, has hit a production snag. The Hollywood Reporter says that the latest Marvel entry, entitled Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, will be temporarily shutting down production due to the injuries that star Letitia Wright sustained earlier this year. It was reported back in August that Wright was shooting a sequence involving a stunt rig, while on location in Boston. At the time, it was said that the injuries were minor and would not slow production down - that appears to no longer be the case.
After her release from the hospital, Wright left for London, where she has been ever since. Filming continued in Atlanta where the primary shooting of the film had taken place for the last two months. Returning writer/director, Ryan Coogler, is said to have shot all the footage he can without Wright, which puts the film on hold.
Wright will reprise her role as Shuri, sister of Black Panther T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman). Shuri became an instant fan-favorite in the 2018 blockbuster. The film went on to gross $1.3 billion and won three Oscars.
Sources close to the production indicate that the film will take a hiatus beginning the week of Thanksgiving. During that time they will reconfigure the shooting calendar to allow for an early 2022 restart date.
A representative of Ms. Wright released a statement saying:
Letitia has been recovering in London since September from injuries sustained on the set of Black Panther 2 and is looking forward to returning to work early 2022. Letitia kindly asks that you keep her in your prayers.
Marvel has already pushed the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever from July 8th, 2022 to November 11th, 2022. No word yet if the release date will be pushed back.