Major spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Consider yourself warned. The much anticipated Black Panther sequel is finally playing in theaters. As you might expect from the Marvel movie, there are plenty of surprises to be had, but not every actor involved was pleased with how their characters were handled… at least at first.
Remember those Black Panther: Wakanda Forever spoilers I mentioned earlier? Here’s where they come into play. Those who have seen Black Panther: Wakanda Forever know that Queen Ramonda doesn’t survive the events of the movie, something Angela Bassett wasn’t very happy about.
“I objected,” Bassett told IndieWire. “Yeah, I was like, ‘Ryan, what are you doing? Why? You will rue the day! You will rue the demise of [Ramonda]. People are gonna be so upset.’” But director Ryan Coogler was quick to point out that no one’s ever really dead in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “He was like, ‘Angela, I know, I know, but look, to die is not really to die in this world. It doesn’t really have to mean that,’” Bassett explained. As for whether Queen Ramonda might return in some fashion (hello, ancestral plane), Bassett would only say “All kinds of crazy things happen.“
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finds Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye, and the Dora Milaje fighting to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. When Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, alerts them to a global threat and his disturbing plan to thwart it, the Wakandans band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Evertt Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. The film stars Letitia Wright as Shuri, Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, Tenoch Huerta as Namor, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Michaela Coel as Aneka, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, Mabel Adena as Namora, Alex Livinalli as Attuma, and Martin Freeman as Everett Ross.
Our own JimmyO reviewed Black Panther: Wakanda Forever earlier this week and absolutely loved it. In fact, he called it “one of my favorite films in the MCU” and “undoubtedly one of my favorite films this year” in his review. “Instead of following the same obvious pattern, the filmmakers welcomed the challenge with sincerity and inspiration,” JimmyO wrote. “Wakanda is more than just a great sequel; it is one of the most heartfelt and moving tributes to an actor I’ve had the pleasure to witness. Emotionally moving, yet the adventure and heart are entirely on display. Ryan Coogler has crafted an exceptional and exciting new chapter for Marvel, so much so that I cannot wait to see where their story takes us for the next installment.” You can check out the rest of JimmyO’s review right here, and be sure to let us know what you thought of the film as well.