The mere announcement of Black Panther Wakanda Forever early on sent shudders down the entire fandom of Marvel fanatics who were keen on finding the answer to the question – Who is the New Black Panther? The 2022 sequel finally has that answer for the fans, but there’s a twist.
Chadwick Boseman’s demise in 2020 left all his family, friends, co-stars and fans in utter shock. It also left the future of his titular character in the MCU uncertain. Ryan Coogler (the director) was all prepared to deal with the aftermath of Thanos’ snap in the sequel’s original story. However, the unfortunate event led him to change everything from top to bottom, thus turning the sequel into a fitting tribute to the actor’s contribution.
Imagining a Black Panther film without the King himself was impossible, yet Coogler made the heartrending task into an even more heartfelt and emotional farewell to King T’Challa and the actor himself. With the mantle of the larger-than-life character left untended, the issue of bringing in a successor became even more evident. The early wave of speculations had already announced T’Challa’s sister, Princess Shuri, as the next person to wield the title.
Though these claims were confirmed with the release of the movie on November 11, 2022, they still left out a crucial new development that the movie has merely hinted at the moment. Read on to find out how these events transpired.
-Disclaimer: This Article Contains Major Spoilers Related to the New Movie-
Who is the New Black Panther?
Yes, indeed, next-in-line to take on the name of the fierce warrior of Wakanda is Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright), but the road to accepting her brother’s death and finally assuming her place as the “protector” of her people wasn’t one without doubts or hardships. If you vaguely recall the events of the 2018 origin film of the Wakandan hero, T’Challa’s cousin Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) ordered for all the remains of the heart-shaped herb, the igniting source of the Black Panther’s power to be burnt to the ground.
Thus fulfilling his intentions, Killmonger did so to ensure that no other individual could ever shoulder the powers of the Wakandan hero/ protector. And this ultimately becomes an alarming issue that is focussed upon throughout the sequel’s entirety since external forces start attacking Wakandan soil.
With the traditional native plant gone, Shuri’s left with the last resort to develop a synthetic alternative for the same. She’s seen working to achieve positive results for it since the very onset of the film, following Thanos’ snap. However, all her attempts result in miserable failures until she meets Namor, the King of the submerged nation Talokan.
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The origins of the heart-shaped herb date back to a meteorite of Vibranium hitting the Earth. The location later became what we now know as Wakanda, and the same impact led to the mutation of the herb. However, the second movie declares that Wakanda isn’t the sole bearer of Vibranium. Namor’s (Tenoch Huerta) origins are also intrinsically linked to the same raw presence of the metal in its early days.
He gifts a bracelet made out of the same raw Vibranium to Shuri when the two meet to discuss their nations’ alliance with each other. When things go south between the two, the peace treaty is endangered after all, and Shuri thinks of decocting the original plant’s traces on the bracelet. With this, she’s finally able to stabilize the artificially produced herb and gain the results she’d always aimed for, thus ingesting the juice in her lab instead of being buried as per the traditional customs, she gains the power despite her initial disbelief as she’s still consumed by thoughts of the recent death of her mother (Angela Bassett) as well.
Is There Only One New Black Panther?
For now, it does look like it, but in the longer run, nothing can be guaranteed. The movie lets us in on another secret kept long hidden by Nakia in Haiti, away from the “pressures of the throne” (as was planned by both his parents) – her son, Toussaint.
Once again, let’s take a ride down memory lane. In the first movie, Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) is able to steal one piece of the magic herb before it’s all been annihilated, and while it is used right away to revive T’Challa, it makes one ponder over the repercussions of the same on Toussaint, or as his Wakandan name stands strong as Prince T’Challa, thus confirming that he’s King T’Challa’s son.
Toussaint’s future is extremely hazy at the moment because, surprisingly enough, King T’Challa never had a son named so in the comics. The MCU has taken the liberty to spin the pre-existing lore creatively, and so it remains to be seen what role he might serve in the future, considering he’d already met Queen Ramonda. Will he ascend the throne? Has he inherited any of the Black Panther’s powers from his father? All shall be revealed in its good time.
Black Panther Wakanda Forever is now out in theatres, while the first movie (2018) can be streamed on Disney+ Hotstar.
Also Read: Black Panther Wakanda Forever Review: A Thoughtful, Moving Synthesis of Action and Emotion