The king is dead. Long live the king. One of the most anticipated Marvel movies ever, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had its world premiere in Hollywood, which means we can finally get a sense of how the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe fared. The blockbuster is a sequel to 2018’s Black Panther, and it has the potential of breaking the original film’s record of $1.3 billion gross at the box office. The movie is also a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer in 2020.
The story takes us back to the kingdom of Wakanda after its king, T’Challa (Boseman), dies a tragic death. Without its leader, the population has to band together in order to honor the fallen king’s memory and protect Wakanda. The movie sees the return of Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Winston Duke as M’Baku, and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, as well as newcomers Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart and Tenoch Huerta as subaquatic super-villain Namor.
True to Marvel’s modus operandi, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s story was kept under wraps for a long time, and even the trailer didn’t reveal much in terms of where the story is going. Of course, this only helped build anticipation, and with the added pressure of closing up the MCU’s lackluster Phase Four, the blockbuster comes to theaters with high expectations to meet. Judging by the early reactions coming in from critics, however, it seems like director Ryan Coogler and screenwriter Joe Robert Cole did a fantastic job of not only honoring the memory of Boseman, but also elevating the stakes of the franchise, being a visual spectacle, and providing a satisfying end to this arc of the Marvel Universe.
The first round of early reactions came straight from our own headquarters: In-house Collider critics Steve Weintraub and Perri Nemiroff had high praise for the latest Marvel offering.
Other critics underscored the movie’s quality by highlighting the maturity of the film and the way it handles grief, saying it's well worth the wait.
As we all imagined, the death of the former protagonist T’Challa is one of the movie’s most important arcs, and handling it with sensitivity was key to delivering some truly heart-wrenching moments.
There was also a lot of praise for the movie’s ensemble cast, who took on the job of carrying forward the legacy of Wakanda while at the same time providing us with a fun ride and compelling performances.
Last but not least, it’s impossible to ignore that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the 30th entry in a much bigger universe.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premieres in theaters on November 11.
You can watch the trailer below: