by Gill Pringle
Less than ten months later, the existing cast plus some brand new names, gathered in Atlanta to create a fitting tribute to the late actor, who was just 43 years old when he died.
Everyone agreed that it was the only way to honour Boseman.
After portraying Jackie Robinson in 42 and James Brown in Get on Up, Boseman was already a major star when he debuted T’Challa/Black Panther in Avengers: Civil War in 2016, two years later starring as the eponymous Black Panther – hailed as a giant step for diversity and inspirational for audiences of colour around the world.
Even though Boseman is no longer with us, director Ryan Coogler argues that his spirit will live on – not only in the emotional footage included in Wakanda Forever – but in the way he continues to bring people together, even inspiring Rihanna to record a new song, ‘Lift Me Up’, for Wakanda Forever’s soundtrack.
“The truth is, once Rihanna played us the record, she said straight up, ‘I did this for Chad you know?’ It was him, man, and sitting here thinking about it, it’s hitting me right now,” says a visibly emotional Coogler, forever grateful for Boseman’s role in bringing him together with Black Panther stars Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wright.
“Chad brought us all together, and he just keeps on giving, so I’m just really thankful that Rihanna was the latest gift to join the family. Even though Rihanna’s song is already out, I can’t wait for folks to see how it’s used in the film,” he says.
In the absence of Boseman, it’s the Wakandan women who now do the heavy lifting in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, something that Coogler believes also inspired Rihanna.
“Rihanna has given us a whole career, a whole catalogue of music and now she’s given us makeup and clothing, so I think the world would understand if she hung up her mic. But the truth is, we were looking for a great artist who could embrace the themes of the film and present them to the audience in a different packaging.
“That’s what Kendrick [Lamar] did for us so beautifully with the first film, but this film is different, so it made sense that it would be a woman because the feeling of motherhood is a major theme in this film. I think it timed up that Rihanna was in that kind of space in her life. She was open,” he says.
All the returning cast agreed that this sequel needed to be handled with the utmost care, especially Wright who now assumes her brother’s mantle as Black Panther heir apparent, Princess Shuri.
“It was Ryan’s guidance which helped me create a full arc of this human being, of this young woman going into something alongside her fellow family members and also for the Wakandans,” says Wright.
“I think the way it was written, and the delicacy; the gentleness of how we approached it, and we were able to bring something that felt real and truthful. I was able to really give my heart to Shuri and hopefully people can resonate with that and find some healing alongside us with it,” adds the British actress.
Opening at the dawn of King T’Challa’s death, invading forces from around the world target Wakanda’s vibranium, unleashing chaos and forcing Shuri, M’Baku (Winston Duke), Nakia (Nyong’o), Okoye (Gurira) and the Dora Milaje to defend the nation, especially when a mysterious Mexican civilisation emerges from the depths of the sea.
The emergence of this new nation, Talokan, leads to the introduction of new cast members Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Talokan ruler Namor, with Alex Livinalli and Mabel Cadena both portraying fierce Talokanil warriors.
A charming Dominique Thorne (Judas and the Black Messiah, If Beale Street Could Talk) plays Riri, a teenage MIT student with a surprising skillset.
Gathered together on a soundstage in Atlanta, Coogler says they began to heal from the loss of their beloved co-star. “We were all processing these feelings of grief and loss, but it’s great when you don’t have to do it alone, and so we were able to go to that sense of community, and also welcome new members so I really feel grateful,” says the director whose films include Fruitvale Station and Creed.
MCU boss Kevin Feige tells how they all struggled to make decisions in the early days following Boseman’s passing, “The shock turned into ‘What do we do? What should we do? Should we do anything?’ And I think relatively soon it was determined that this amazing ensemble of characters in this world that had been created on screen needed to continue,” he recalls.
Having spent the entire year before Boseman’s death working on a script, Coogler went back to scratch.
“Ryan pours all of himself into everything he does and he had been working on a version of the movie with T’Challa in it and was finding and pouring his life experience from making the first movie into that.
“But when we lost Chad, all of that was then poured into this movie as well, keeping the idea of a celebration of Wakanda and the character at the forefront, in addition to the grief that of course comes with that,” says Feige.
If Wright’s Shuri feels grief her own way, then Angela Bassett’s Ramonda, Queen of Wakanda, must once again lead her people, the depth of her emotion serving as a cornerstone for this new story. “She comes to the table having dealt with grief before – with her husband, having lost Shuri and T’Challa in the blip, then having them come back only to lose her son. She has a unique point of view,” says Coogler’s co-writer, Joe Robert Cole.
“It’s been a year since the passing of her son and to Ramonda, tradition is important. Grieving, recognising that grief, going through the various stages of it, that’s something that this mother understands, that this queen understands, with her husband and her son passing. She’s a woman of faith. Shuri’s a young woman of science. So, the respect for that, the recognition of that, the embracing of that is not in her wheelhouse. But a mother knows. A mother can see,” says Cole.
Bassett treasures the character. “It was an offer that couldn’t be refused. It was an opportunity to see women who look like me in their resplendent glory. And those opportunities were few and far between. I’m just so grateful and blessed that it happened during my time and that Ryan [Coogler] and whomever the powers that be thought that I could bring her to bear, bring her to light.
“I’ve come to love and admire and revere the character. It’s almost as if I’m on the outside looking in, looking at her as an audience member, as a woman of colour, as a little girl that fell in love with cinema and characters and who they represent and how they can inspire on screen,” says the Oscar-nominated actress.
For Nyong’o, who was perhaps closer to Boseman than any of the cast, she wanted to make her late co-star proud, envious that Wright’s Shuri gets most of the action in Wakanda Forever, while her own Nakia is on a mysterious mission in Haiti.
“I remember in the beginning, reading the script, and I was so envious of Letitia because she gets to be chaotic!” she laughs.
“And that’s how I felt. I felt raw and wanted to express it and it’s not like she [Nakia] has it all figured out. But, in the first film, Ryan described her as T’Challah’s oasis and that really resonated with me. When I was reading this script and thinking about where she is, I realised that what she was once to T’Challah, she now has the opportunity to offer Shuri – and it made a lot of sense in terms of the structure and architecture of the story.
“When we’re talking about exploration of grief, it’s really grounding to have someone who is, I want to say, befriending of the change for the people in the story but also for an audience and the fact that she was T’Challah’s love in a way, I guess allows an audience to know that it’s okay.
“So, as much as I was frustrated with Ryan, for doing that with Nakia, actually playing her was very therapeutic for me because I had to look beyond my frustrations with losing Chadwick and learn from her; learn from that wisdom that she seems to possess. And, for that, I’m really grateful to Ryan.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in cinemas November 10, 2022
