The next epic from Marvel Studios and filmmaker Ryan Coogler is currently stalking a box-office debut that will have executives shouting, “Wakanda Forever!” According to early tracking, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the highly anticipated sequel to 2018’s Black Panther, is looking at a $175 million theatrical debut. As impressive as that is, analysts believe the superhero spectacle could make even more after reviews and positive word of mouth spread across the land. It’s also worth noting that Disney and Marvel haven’t unleashed the film’s promotional blitz, which will inevitably lead to more tickets sold.
Coogler’s Black Panther took the box office by storm in 2018. Analysts and audiences underestimated the appeal and cultural reach of the film, which seems ridiculous given the film’s boffo financial performance and influence over geek culture. Black Panther sharpened its claws on a $202 million opening, then pounced on $700.4M domestically and $1.3 billion worldwide. Some say Black Panther: Wakanda Forever could earn more than the original as fans are eager to see how the film addresses the untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman’s King T’Challa.
Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, and Dominique Thorne, in her debut as Riri Williams (Ironheart), are taking center stage for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with Tenoch Huerta as Namor the Sub-Mariner. Ryan Coogler returns to the franchise to direct and co-write the sequel with Joe Robert Cole, which looks as colorful, emotional, and exciting as the original. The sequel finds Wakanda pitted against intervening world powers as they mourn the loss of King T’Challa.
Do you think Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will make more money than the original? Who do you believe will assume the Black Panther mantle by the film’s end? Will it be Letitia Wright’s Shuri, or are the clues that point toward her ascension a red herring? I have faith in Coogler’s ability to make Black Panther 2 memorable and emotional, and at the end of the day, that’s all I need to be entertained.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever unleashes in theaters on November 11, 2022.