Wakanda Forever: Producer opens up about ‘pressure’ of getting the film right after Chadwick Boseman’s death

‘I think we’re going to see the movie in two lenses, pure entertainment, but also cathartic’

Black Panther producer Nate Moore has said that Chadwick Boseman’s death has put a lot of “pressure” on them to get the Wakanda Forever sequel right.

“I think this movie has different sort of pressure on it, obviously, with the loss of Chadwick, which was unexpected and unprecedented in a way narratively, to figure out how to deal with,” Moore said on ComicBook’s Phase Zero podcast.

“So beyond, ‘Hey, we want to make a big, fun time,’ and people of the first movie, it’s how do we sort of do right by his legacy and tell a story that isn’t exploitative, which we would never, ever do, but builds on the things that he loved about the property and builds on the things that he brought to the property in a way that is enjoyable, feels real, feels earned, feels organic.”

“I think we’re going to see the movie in two lenses, pure entertainment, but also cathartic. And we have to be conscious of both of those lenses as we’re making it,” Moore said.

Chadwick Boseman died aged 43 in August 2020, following a battle with colon cancer. He had been diagnosed with colon cancer four years earlier, but chose not to make the news public. His family and friends revealed that all of his films were shot despite countless surgeries and chemotherapy at the time.

It’s been confirmed that Chadwick Boseman’s role as the heroic King T’Challa will not be recast (Marvel Studios-Disney/AP)

Production for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the sequel to one of the world’s highest-grossing films, has been underway since June, with Ryan Coogler at the helm. It is scheduled to be released in November 2022.

No details about the storyline have been revealed so far. However, it has been confirmed that Boseman’s role as the heroic King T’Challa will not be recast.

In April, Michael B Jordan told Jess Cagle’s SiriusXM show: “I know [director Ryan Coogler] and Marvel are going to do the absolute best job at developing the story in a way that makes everybody happy and satisfied and honours Chad and moves forward with grace.”

Jordan starred as the villain Killmonger in Black Panther.

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ is scheduled to be released in November 2022 (Marvel/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock)

Returning cast members for the film include Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, and Winston Duke.

In August, Wright was hospitalised following an accident on the set of Wakanda Forever and suffered “minor injuries” after an incident with a stunt rig. Wright has been recovering in London since being released from hospital. The incident did not delay filming initially as the makers shot scenes around her character.

But production will now be temporarily stopped as Wright is expected to return to set only in early 2022, according to The Hollywood Reporter.