Following the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, the original onscreen Black Panther and King T’Challa, Wakanda’s fate within the MCU was up in the air. The thought of a sequel in the actor’s absence was difficult to imagine, but co-writer and director Ryan Coogler, along with a spectacular cast and crew, set out to honor both the man and his character with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Ahead of the sequel hitting theaters, producer Nate Moore sat down with Collider’s Steve Weintraub to share answers to some of our most burning questions.

In this interview Moore teases the return of the Talocans, goes more in-depth on their “Super-Soldier-esque” powers, and shares a little about the film’s alternate titles. He also discusses the progress of the upcoming Ironheart series on Disney+, the future of Black Panther 3, mid-credits, end scenes, and everything in between. The Wakanda Forever producer even reveals a deleted scene and talks Captain America: New World Order. You can read the full interview below, or watch the video above.

COLLIDER: I'm going to start with congratulations.

NATE MOORE: Oh, thank you.

You guys literally did the impossible. You made something that's very respectful of Chadwick, but also keeping the franchise going, introducing all these new characters.

MOORE: Right.

I don't think people realize the level of difficulty in making this film.

MOORE: Yeah, I agree. No, it was tough. It was already going to be tough just trying to make a sequel to the first film because of how it was received, and how it hit people. Then obviously, it got complicated by Chad's passing and our human reactions to that event.

I think Ryan [Coogler] figured out a way to maybe do the impossible, which is to marry the emotion of what was happening, and art, and entertainment imitating life to a degree, but also delivering on the promise of characters like Namor, and the Talocan, and Riri Williams. There are a lot of ideas in the movie that don't feel like they're in conflict with each other, and it hopefully makes for an epic experience for people.

A hundred percent. So, I have some speed round questions.

MOORE: Let's do it.

What is the status of this “untitled Wakanda series?”

MOORE: So, because of the amount of time and attention that went into this film, and frankly the Ironheart show, that is probably not as far along as people want it to be, but there are certainly great ideas that we're still talking to Ryan about. So, we'll see how far we can get with it.

What is the status of Ironheart? Is it done filming?

MOORE: It's nearly complete. I think they might be on their second to last day, if I'm not mistaken.

I heard a rumor, and I want you to clarify.

MOORE: Sure.

I heard rumors that originally at the end of the credits of Wakanda Forever you were going to have a final credit scene. Was that ever the case?

MOORE: No, actually. I've heard those rumors, too. No, I think the subject matter of the film was such that it didn't feel appropriate to have, then, a stinger. Much like Endgame felt like an emotional experience that you also didn't need a stinger at the end of. This felt like we just wanted to tell the story as it was conceived without an added bonus. So, unfortunately there isn't an end credits.

I think the mid-credit scene is phenomenal, and perfect, and I am glad there's nothing at the end.

MOORE: Yeah.

You guys totally made the right call.

MOORE: Yeah.

What were some of the alternate titles that this film almost was called?

MOORE: Yeah, that's a good question. There was literally a list of hundreds.

That's what Black Panther 3 is for.

MOORE: That's right. You're like, “Kingdom of the Deep?” You're like, “Does it have to be about Namor?” Then we realized that Wakanda Forever felt right, because it's a story about triumph through adversity. It's a story about legacy, it's a story about persistence, and Wakanda Forever says all those things. Initially, I will say this, at one point it was like, "Oh, that feels like the title of the third movie. Where do you go from Wakanda Forever? That feels like it's the end." But no, actually it felt really appropriate thematically to the story we were trying to tell.

The mid-credit scene is phenomenal.

MOORE: Yep.

How early on did you know that was going to be the scene?

MOORE: Pretty early on. That was always the end of the movie pretty, much since Chad's passing. I think the first draft we got had that in there, and the notion of the character introduced in that scene actually predated Chad's passing, to be quite honest. We always like the idea that…

Oh yeah, I know what you mean.

MOORE: Yeah. But it was repurposed thematically once Chad passed, and hopefully feels like renewal after a time of adversity.

I'm curious about the strength of the Atlanteans on the bridge.

MOORE: Yes.

Because they basically get their ass kicked.

MOORE: Yeah.

Fatal blows, and they get up.

MOORE: Yeah.

How do you describe their powers?

MOORE: Yeah, we've talked a lot about that. “Are they sort of Super-Soldier-esque?” I'm a bit of a nerd. So, I used to play the Marvel Heroes role-playing game, and you're like, "Wait, do they have body armor? Do they have a 10?”

But no, we see them as sort of Super-Soldier level, partially because they live under the water. So, they're a bit tougher, their skin's a bit tougher, their bones probably are lighter, but their muscle density is increased. So, they are stronger than humans, certainly, and are able to withstand Okoye’s otherwise-killing strokes, much to her frustration, which I think makes them incredibly formidable. So, if and when we see them again, I think whoever comes across them might be in some trouble.

I would agree with that statement.

MOORE: Yeah.

What is your next Marvel project?

MOORE: Captain America: New World Order.

Where are you in the development?

MOORE: We are in pre-production. We start shooting next spring.

Do you have a script that you guys are super happy with?

MOORE: We do.

Can you tease?

MOORE: Well, look, Sam Wilson's Captain America, he is going to bring his own team to play. It's no secret that Samuel Sterns is making his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is fantastic because Tim Blake Nelson's the best. Harrison Ford is taking on the role of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, and to see Sam Wilson and Thunderbolt Ross - which if you remember actually threw him in prison at the end of Civil War because he violated the Sokovia Accords. There's going to be some natural sparks there, which I think are going to be really fun.

Listen, the movie hasn't even come out yet.

MOORE: Yeah.

But obviously Black Panther's going to be a huge part, and these characters are going to be a huge part of the MCU going forward.

MOORE: Yeah.

Do you envision a Black Panther 3 in the next three, four years, or do you think this is going to be something where Wakanda and the characters are just embedded into the rest of the MCU?

MOORE: That's a great question. To be honest, this is not me trying to not answer the question. We really want to see how audiences receive the film, and I think Ryan's really interested to see how the film plays before we decide. There are certainly ideas we've floated around of what a third film could be if we get to make it. But until the movie comes out, we're a bit superstitious in that way. We don't want to count our chickens, because you never know what's going to happen.

This is going to be a monster hit. This isn't even a debate.

MOORE: I hope you're correct.

This movie's going to be massive because it's so good and also people are going to love it. Did you end up with a lot of deleted scenes on this movie?

MOORE: We ended up with some deleted scenes, yes.

When you say "some", I'm curious what that actually means.

MOORE: More than two, less than 10? No, there's some great stuff. A lot of characters have scenes that are great scenes that the movie just couldn't bear. It's already a relatively long movie, and we wanted to make sure the movie felt as focused as it could, while doing as much as it's doing. But there are some deleted scenes that are really cool.

How much of those deleted scenes were close to completed or completed before being removed?

MOORE: 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. Ryan, by the way, is as well. So, things are in, things are out. “What about this over here?” So, some are closer to completion, some are pretty raw.

Obviously you want people to go to the streaming site at some point, so how much are you guys already talking about, "Look, we can do the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Extended Cut, and put it on Disney+?”

MOORE: Yeah, we've typically resisted that, and I think we'll continue to because we like to think we and the filmmakers landed on what the movie should be. So, I don't know that we'll ever assemble it - I'll never say never. 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.

Yeah. It's called premiering on Collider.

MOORE: There you go.

What is the last thing you cut out before picture locking that, if you could, you would put it back in the movie?

MOORE: There's certainly a scene with Okoye and Ayo after Okoye has been fired that's really interesting. That, again, I think is incredibly watchable. It just slowed the pace down of the movie a little bit. But you get to see, Okoye react to the new General, and you get to see what she was planning to do before the events of Namor, and the Talocan coming to Wakanda happen. It's actually pretty cool.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing in theaters.