The first footage from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was released by Marvel Studios, and it showed Shuri leading Wakanda into battle against an unknown foe. Following Black Panther’s record-breaking debut in 2018, Marvel Studios quickly began working on a sequel with director Ryan Coogler. The film was marred by tragedy in late 2020, when star Chadwick Boseman died after a four-year battle with colon cancer. Despite the fact that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever required time to retool without T’Challa, Marvel and Coogler decided to make the sequel to honor Boseman’s legacy.
Officially, most details about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever have been kept under wraps. Marvel Studios has confirmed that Letitia Wright’s Shuri, Danai Gurira’s Okoye, Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia, Winston Duke’s M’Baku, and others will return. While Kevin Feige confirmed Dominique Thorne will make her Black Panther 2 debut as Ironheart, the studio has yet to confirm the long-running rumor that Namor will be the villain as Wakanda and Atlantis go to war.
Marvel Studios has released the first footage from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as part of Disney’s presentation at CinemaCon 2022, which Screen Rant is attending. The clip was part of a larger sizzle reel for Disney’s upcoming slate and featured a shot of Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia standing together on the front lines of a battle. The Black Panther 2 trailer does not reveal who Wakanda’s army is preparing to fight, but this could be a hint at Namor’s villainous role.
It’s not surprising that the first Black Panther: Wakanda Forever footage focuses on Nakia, Okoye, and Shuri. In light of T’Challa’s absence, they will be three of the main characters in the sequel, which will elevate the roles of many previously supporting characters. The fact that Nakia, Okoye, and Shuri are leading Wakanda’s army reflects each of their important roles in the country. During Black Panther 2, Shuri is widely speculated to be Wakanda’s new ruler and the next person to don the Black Panther suit. It’s possible she’ll don the suit in the battle shown in this footage, but Marvel cut it out.
Because the release date of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever isn’t until November 2022, those who aren’t at CinemaCon will likely have to wait several months before seeing any footage from the film. Marvel Studios only recently released the Thor: Love and Thunder teaser trailer, with less than 90 days until the film’s release. The original Black Panther, on the other hand, had one of the longest marketing campaigns for an MCU film, with Marvel debuting the first footage during the NBA Finals in 2017. This gives Marvel Studios plenty of leeway in releasing the first Black Panther: Wakanda Forever footage to the public.
