Black Panther's legacy lives Forever in Wakanda

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the sequel to the 2018 Marvel Comics superhero film Black Panther. It was the story of a warrior named T'Challa who returns to his homeland of Wakanda after the death of his father to assume the role of king. Chadwick Boseman played the title character and died from colon cancer in 2020.

Wakanda Forever begins with King T'Challa's death and his family recovering from the loss. Instead of quickly replacing Boseman with another panther right away the storyline unfolds naturally over a two and a half running time.

Angela Bassett is especially good as the regal Ramonda and actress Letitia Wright as Shuri has a lot riding on her shoulders. A new character named Namor is introduced with strong confidence by Tenoch Huerta. The writers have cleverly mixed the original 1939 Atlantean/Human hybrid to an underwater civilization in Tolakan, which is influenced by Mayan culture. His feathered ankles now refer to a serpent with wings god named K'uk'ulkan and N-amor derived from the Spanish word for love.

This allows for the creators of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to further diversify the characters after the success of the original Black Panther movie and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

White men were mainly the force behind the original comic books that these superheroes were based on and now moviegoers can see themselves and others represented better on the big screen. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are also included in the diversifying of these MCU projects and can be seen although subtly in this endeavor as well.

The special effects and fight scenes are smoothly executed in Wakanda Forever and definitely worth seeing at the cinema. The humor is few and far between as opposed to the previous Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor franchises, which is appropriate given the stoic and majestic style of Black Panther's kingdom.

Much of this second installment is setting things up for the third movie making this the last movie in phase four of the MCU. Fans will not want to miss this important piece of the puzzle that follows the inhabitants of Wakanda. This Black Panther does Bose's legacy justice and expands representation on the screen in new and important ways for all the world to see. Wakanda may not last forever but for now, it should rule the box office this holiday season beginning on November 11, 2022!