Less than a month away from theBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverpremiere, additional information for the film has confirmed that the plot will feature a one-year time jump from the death of Chadwick Boseman’s King T’Challa.
With Boseman passing away in 2020, the sole question of anotherBlack Panthermovie being made became an uncertainty, and even after the film was confirmed, howwriter and director Ryan Cooglerwould tackle the subject was even more crucial. Coogler himself has expressed he didn’t know if he could have made any movie at all, and it looks like some of that carries over to the MCU, as the grief expressed byBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever’s characters lasts for quite a while.
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According to an officialBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverpress release from Disney, Coogler highlighted how long it’s been after the original Black Panther’s death in the film, with both Shuri and Queen Ramonda struggling to cope with losing him more than a year later, and that’swhen Namor comes into play. “Ramonda realizes that it’s been a year since T’Challa’s passing and Shuri’s still not healing—she’s not taking steps to move forward in a healthy way,” Coogler said. That should make it clear that it’s not as if whoever the new Black Panther is was forced to jump into T’Challa’s armor right away.
In Coogler’s words, both Shuri and Ramonda step away for a while to a spiritual retreat of sorts, and they’re the ones being approached by Namor, and not the other way around as was initially thought afterthe firstBlack Panther: Wakanda Forevertrailercame out. Another theory that could be debunked is that the ritual showing the people of Wakanda dressed in white might be a one-year memorial to commemorate T’Challa’s legacy instead of the actual funeral. That said, either one would work as white is the color for mourning in the African nation.
This extra bit of information still doesn’t reveal how Coogler will address Boseman’s death inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, as the two main ideas from fans are that either T’Challa passes away due to an incurable disease, just like the actor, or he perishes in battle, which seems like the less likely proposition. In any case, the setup to have Shuri dive deeper into her work makes for a nice way to get her to meet Riri Williams, who will end up becomingIronheartin the movie.
Besides Boseman’s disappearance, the other large mystery surroundingBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreveriswho will be the next Black Panther, with Shuri looking all but certain to pick up the mantle from her brother.
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveris scheduled to release in theaters on July 27, 2025.
