Leading a gigantic film crew to put together a Marvel blockbuster is no easy feat. ForBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever’s directorRyan Coogler, there was the added pressure of delivering a sequel that lived up to its original, as well as one that worked as both an entertaining new step in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a tribute to the late starChadwick Boseman. In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Marvel mega-producerKevin Feigerevealed that Coogler managed to do all that – and then some.
Coogler is arguably the life ofBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever. On top of directing the feature film, the filmmaker also doubled down as producer, screenwriter, and even composer – which means that virtually every element that ended up on screen needed his approval. InThe Official Black Panther Podcast, the director revealed that the pressure was overwhelming, but Feige added that Coogler had a small token that helped him get through the challenging production:
“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.”
Ryan Coogler Faced Multi-Layered Challenges During Production ofBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever
Even though the trailers and the movie itself make it pretty clear that Boseman’s memory permeates the story, Coogler had to find a way to move on and introduce new elements to the story, including an iconic and fan-favorite villain and the new Black Panther – which by now you should know is T’Challa’s sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), the one all rumors pointed to.
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The THR article also reveals that theBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverteam also struggled to decide how much of Boseman would be worked into the movie. First of all, the screenplay, whichwas already finishedbefore Boseman died in 2020, had to be completely rewritten. When filming began, the decision to include a mural with Boseman’s face – which you see in the trailer – was reportedly a very hard one, as production designerHannah Beachlerrecalls:
“That was a really hard decision, to do the mural. Ryan and I talked about it a lot, and I think he went back and forth with it a lot. When people saw the mural, that was the extra sort of layer of grief that was really hard on the cast, really hard on Ryan.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s cast also featuresAngela Bassettas Queen Ramonda,Danai Guriraas Okoye,Lupita Nyong’oas Nakia,Winston Dukeas M’Baku,Martin Freemanas Everett Ross,Tenoch Huertaas super-villain Namor,Dominique Thorneas Riri Williams/Ironheart,Florence Kasumbaas Ayo, andMichaela Coelas Aneka.
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveris now in theaters. you may watch the trailer below:
