Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the recent entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has had its international debut for film reviewers, and the superhero movie has so far received mostly excellent reviews. There was additional pressure on director Ryan Coogler to make a follow-up that was as good as its predecessor and served as both an enjoyable new chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a memorial to the late actor Chadwick Boseman. Marvel mega-producer Kevin Feige said that Coogler accomplished all of that and more in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
In addition to helming the film, the director also served as producer, screenplay, and composer, which meant that almost every aspect that appeared on screen required his approval. Speaking candidly about the production, Kevin Feige referred to the movie as “the most important movie we have ever made.” He said, “All of us very much believe that this feels like the most important movie we’ve ever made. That is what every crew member focused on every day, and none more so than Ryan Coogler at the helm of it all.”
Feige added, “Ryan was guiding all of us through that. He wore a necklace with Chad’s picture on it every day of the shoot. There was no doubt that this was a tribute and celebration of Chad.” Coogler had to figure out a way to move on and introduce new elements to the story, including an iconic and fan-favorite villain and the new Black Panther, who by this point you should know is T’Challa’s sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), the one to whom all rumours pointed. This is despite the fact that the trailers and the film itself make it pretty clear that Boseman’s memory permeates the story.
The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever crew battled to decide how much of Boseman would be included in the film, according to the THR article. First and foremost, the screenplay had to be totally revised despite being completed before Boseman passed away in 2020. It was allegedly quite difficult to decide to incorporate the mural of Boseman’s face that you see in the teaser when production first started.