Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: A 'mournful farewell' to Chadwick Boseman
'There wasn't a dry eye in the theater during the film's 160-minute runtime'


How can a franchise move forward after an "unimaginable loss"?
Director Ryan Coogler was faced with that question when crafting Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which hits theaters this weekend more than two years after the original film's star, Chadwick Boseman, died from colon cancer in August 2020 at the age of 43. But is it really possible to make a successful Black Panther sequel without the franchise's main star — or main character?
According to critics, the answer is yes, as Wakanda Forever has been described in early reviews as an emotional, satisfying follow-up that pays tribute to Boseman and his legacy (even if an overstuffed plot keeps it from soaring to its predecessor's heights). Here's what the writers are saying:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Chadwick Boseman forever
A sequel to Black Panther was already in the works when Boseman died in 2020 after a battle with cancer that no one at Marvel was reportedly aware he was fighting. In the wake of his death, the sequel film's script was drastically rewritten, and Marvel made the decision to not recast Boseman's character, the titular Black Panther. Instead, Wakanda Forever opens with a sequence depicting the off-screen death of T'Challa (Black Panther) due to an unidentified illness, and his ensuing funeral. We see his coffin being lifted into the sky before cutting to a montage of Boseman that RoberEbert.com's Robert Daniels describes as "earnest" and "emotional." With a start like that, it's no wonder Variety claims "there wasn't a dry eye in the theater during the film's 160-minute runtime." Bleeding Cool's Kaitlyn Booth agreed: "This is a movie looking to do an Up, which is 'make you cry before the title credits.'"
Much of Wakanda Forever deals with T'Challa's loved ones, including his sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), and his mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), as they cope with the tragedy — a tragedy the actors were coping with too. Boseman's family was consulted during the filmmaking process, and the resulting movie does a "delicate" job of "acknowledging its hero's death while keeping the Black Panther flame — not to mention its multibillion-dollar revenue stream — alive," Bloomberg's Ella Ceron writes.
There was some resistance to the idea of not recasting T'Challa, with certain fans arguing the character was too meaningful to too many people that he shouldn't live on through a new actor. But for most critics, the decision to directly reflect on Boseman's passing and the legacy of his time as Black Panther worked quite well: A "vein of exquisite sorrow … ripples through" the "epic" and "thrilling" sequel, The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney raves, and the "triumphant" and "moving" film serves as a "mournful farewell to an actual hero," The Verge's Charles Pulliam-Moore says.
Others, however, said Boseman's absence is felt to a degree that is detrimental to Wakanda Forever. "With no Chadwick Boseman, it's missing a measure of magic," Time's Stephanie Zacharek says, "a sad reality that's no one's fault." But that's not to say the rest of the cast doesn't deliver: As Shuri, Wright is "excellent in a performance strong enough to earn her an ongoing place in the Marvel pantheon," IndieWire's David Ehrlich says. And the stand-out may be Bassett as Queen Ramonda; she delivers such a humdinger of a performance as a mother who has lost everything that it wouldn't be surprising to see her snag an Oscar nomination for it. "They fill the void, all right," Variety's Owen Gleiberman says of the cast.
Under the sea
Not all of Wakanda Forever is about T'Challa's death, though. After T'Challa revealed Wakanda to the United Nations in the first film, countries around the world — the United States included — are now on the hunt for the ore Vibranium, and it turns out Wakanda isn't the only source of this precious metal. But the search for Vibranium under the sea enrages Namor (Tenoch Huerta), the king of an underwater civilization called Talokan (changed from Atlantis in the comics), which puts him in conflict with Wakanda.
Just like Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger was arguably the highlight of Black Panther, critics heaped praise on Namor, who is similarly presented as a sympathetic antagonist fighting against colonialism. "Huerta gives one of the most impressive, star-making performances in MCU history, instantly elevating himself to a top-tier baddie," io9's Germain Lussier says. Get ready for a wave of "Namor was right!"
Coogler also captures some stunning and technically complicated underwater visuals as he takes the audience into Talocan, and Deadline's Pete Hammond praises the "rip-roaring" action throughout (though if Avatar: The Way of Water has anything to say about it, this won't be the year's best movie featuring the ocean and blue people).
The next generation
Another newcomer to the Marvel universe in Wakanda Forever is Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a.k.a. Ironheart, who is set up as a sort of young Tony Stark. She is an inventor who comes onto Wakanda's radar after she builds an advanced machine that can detect Vibranium — not to mention a very Iron Man-esque suit — and she's paired with Shuri as Namor seeks to hunt her down. Thorne, who's set to lead the Disney+ show Ironheart next, clearly has a bright future in the MCU, and the studio's casting is once again on point: "I frankly can't wait to see more of her," Mashable's Kristy Puchko says.
But if Wakanda Forever isn't on the level of the original, some critics felt that's because it's a bit overstuffed and occasionally burdened with having to set the stage for Marvel's upcoming movies and shows, including with the introduction of Ironheart. "Some portions feel more worried about setting up Phase Five of the MCU than telling a singular story," ScreenCrush's Matt Singer says, adding that the film struggles to service "too many characters," while Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson notes some viewers may "miss the tight focus" of the original.
All in all, though, critics widely agreed Wakanda Forever effectively balances various tones and plot lines, delivering a thoughtful meditation on grief that still functions as a thrilling popcorn movie. It's worth noting Boseman's death wasn't even the only way Wakanda Forever's production was troubled, as filming also had to be halted at one point after Letitia Wright, who faced backlash for spreading an anti-vaccine video in 2020, was injured.
But leave it to Ryan Coogler to take the tricky and tragic hands he was dealt and somehow deliver one of the strongest films of Marvel's Phase Four anyway.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
X CEO Yaccarino quits after two years
Speed Read Elon Musk hired Linda Yaccarino to run X in 2023
-
Are right-wing conspiracy theorists turning on Trump?
Today's Big Question The administration's Jeffrey Epstein announcement has sparked a MAGA backlash
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs
Speed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
Ari Aster revisits the pandemic, Adam Sandler tees off again and Lamb Chop gets an origin story in July movies
the week recommends The month's film releases include 'Eddington,' 'Happy Gilmore 2' and 'Shari & Lamb Chop'
-
Film reviews: F1: The Movie, 28 Years Later, and Familiar Touch
Feature An aging race car driver gets one last chance, a kid struggles to survive in this '28 Days Later' update, and a woman with dementia adjusts to her new life
-
The best film reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
Film review: Materialists
Feature Two suitors seek to win over a jaded matchmaker
-
Film reviews: The Life of Chuck, How to Train Your Dragon, and From the World of John Wick: Ballerina
Feature A backward trip through one ordinary life, a young Viking tames a monstrous foe, the franchise's new assassin chases revenge
-
Film reviews: The Phoenician Scheme, Bring Her Back, and Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Feature A despised mogul seeks a fresh triumph, orphaned siblings land with a nightmare foster mother, and a Jane fan finds herself in a love triangle
-
5 horror movies to sweat out this summer
The Week Recommends A sequel, a reboot and a follow-up from the director of 'Barbarian' highlight the upcoming scary movie slate
-
Fast-and-furious zombies, serial killer sharks and a matchmaking conundrum in June's new movies
the week recommends Danny Boyle is back with '28 Years Later' and Dakota Johnson has a Sophie's choice to make in 'Materialists'