'Black Panther' Has Marvel Fans Prank Calling Real-Life Village of Wauconda

Black Panther's cultural impact continues to be a fascinating phenomenon to watch unfold, as the Marvel film has inspired some funny (or "WTF?") real-life anecdotes. Yesterday we reported that the airport that pulled a gag by offering flights to Wakanda, today we have something even more humorous: a small town that is suddenly getting famous, thanks to Black Panther.

THR reports that the Illinois "village" of Wauconda (pronounced like "Wakanda") is now getting phone calls from people dropping some Black Panther-inspired requests, such as Vibranium handouts.

The funniest part of this little anecdote is hearing the reaction from the actual villagers. Alise Homola is the executive assistant to the village administrator and mayor, and she provides a clear picture of how life has changed in Wauconda, since Black Panther's release:

"At first, I was like, is there a full moon out? Someone called and asked how we pronounced the village name and when I told him, he began yelling 'Wakanda forever!' which I am guessing is from the film."

The prank calls haven't been too extensive, and the people of Wauconda are said to be enjoying the new exposure, though officials downplay any plans to exploit the connection.

It's hard not to chuckle at the mental image of a small town civil servant getting a call from an overly-happy Marvel fans screaming "Wakanda Forever!" much to the civil servant's confusion. In fact, the entire "Wakanda Forever" (and its cool cross-arm signal) are quickly becoming meme-level pop-culture fixations. Pranking villagers is only the beginning...

Black Panther is now in theaters. It will be followed by Avengers: Infinity War on May 4th, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6th, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.