Back in the heat of the summer of 2020, Ryan Coogler was working on the script for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. When Chadwick Boseman, the star of the Black Panther franchise, tragically lost his private battle with colon cancer the script had to take a turn to make up for Boseman's absence, but Coogler has revealed that the film was set to have a different vibe that mirrored another Marvel Studios film.
Grappling with the loss of Boseman was hard for Coogler to bear, and he even expressed thoughts of leaving the entertainment industry after the star passed. It was hard for Coogler to come to terms with the show going on in the absence of Boseman and to discover what would come next in the sequel tale of the Black Panther franchise.
With the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever right around the corner, Coogler is giving more incite about what's to come and what could've been. In an interview with Inverse, Coogler reveals news that may come as a shock to some: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was set to tell a story about grief even before the loss of its star. Coogler went on to explain that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was set to follow T'Challa as he battles grief with the time he lost due to the blip, which occurred at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Coogler told Inverse, “The character was going to be grieving the loss of time, you know, coming back after being gone for five years. As a man with so much responsibility to so many, coming back after a forced five years absence, that’s what the film was tackling. He was grieving a time he couldn’t get back. Grief was a big part of it.”
Although the film underwent changes, Coogler also revealed that some things were always meant to make their way onto the screen. Coogler made it clear that Namor (played by Tenoch Huerta) “was always the antagonist.” Namor is a longtime enemy of T'Challa in Marvel Comics, so he was destined to make his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe sooner than later. In fact, Coogler had ideas on how to introduce Namor as far back as the first Black Panther film.
Nonetheless, as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever gears up for its major theatrical release within the next week, it’ll be a time to honor Boseman and all the love he put into the character of T'Challa and the Black Panther. This will also be a time of celebration for Coogler and the film's cast, as they step into a new chapter of storytelling, in the power of everything that's been lost.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be released in theaters on November 11, 2022.
Source: Inverse