Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

The long-awaited sequel to 2018’s excellent Black Panther is beset by the unenviable challenge of dealing with the absence of its star, the late Chadwick Boseman.

In a cinematic universe in which multiverses exist and mortality is therefore only a mild concern, it would surely have been tempting for Marvel to retcon the absence of King T’Challa through some sort of cosmos-bending gimmick.   

And perhaps that would have been the case were the film not in the hands of the dependably excellent Ryan Coogler. Instead, what we get is an unexpectedly poignant Marvel film that explores the grieving process and, in doing so, delivers a new, multi-faceted successor to the Black Panther moniker.

Admittedly, it does so by way of a war between Wakanda and an invading tribe of fish-people, but the emotional core of this sequel remains both raw and pathos-inducing throughout.

Much of that is down to the stellar work of Angela Basset and Letitia Wright, whose characters are left to grapple with the conflicting interests of their country and grief for T’Challa. Basset is especially brilliant and brings an almost regal stamp of quality to every scene she is in, while the arc of Wright’s character Shuri promises much for future franchise instalments.

While the film suffers from a forgettable villain and a gratuitous run-time, it ultimately achieves the delicate balancing act of honouring Boseman and progressing the Black Panther story.