Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Winston Duke Teases “So Much More Wakanda” in Sequel

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will obviously have to deal with the massive loss of franchise star Chadwick Boseman. However, the sequel will also open the door on a much bigger vision of Wakanda, even as it closes a door on T’Challa’s time there. In a recent interview during the D23 Expo, Black Panther 2 star Winston Duke outright said that we will be getting “so much more Wakanda” in this next chapter of the franchise. 

Winston Duke once plays Wakanda’s Jabari Tribe leader M’Baku in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but as he explained to Marvel.com during D23, M’Baku’s role is going to have shifted in a big way after the events of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. While Duke says M’Baku is “still very honest,” he admits that “he is no longer the insular leader, he’s learning how to move forward. So he has a very large, wide, macro lens as to what’s happening and I think we get to see more of that, and see how much that impacts him.” 

That line of thought about M’Baku’s need for wider perspective led right into the wider perspective on Wakanda itself that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (and director Ryan Coogler) will offer Marvel fans: 

“What I’m most excited for fans to see is how much more Wakanda there is,” Duke explained. “There’s just so much more than the first movie, and that’s exciting.” 

That expansion isn’t just story progression: Marvel has been working with Coogler to launch TV spinoff of the main Black Panther franchise, featuring characters like Okoye (Danai Gurira). 

We’re also learning more about the storyline of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, thanks to some new D23 footage that was screened. Here’s what we saw: 

“Angela Bassett is at a hearing. A character played by Richard Schiff is accusing Wakanda of not sharing Vibranium. This is cut with military guys trying to break into Vibranium vault, but the Dora Milage stop them, and then bring the prisoners into the hearing. Then it’s more of a trailer. We see more Namor.”

The natural resources of Wakanda are seemingly at stake in this sequel film – a bitter pill, since Wakanda chose to finally open its borders to the world in the first film, and then immediately gave blood and life defending that world from Thanos. With the central monarch gone (timely), the whole nation of Wakanda will be hitting turbulence – even as Namor’s forces become the most brazen threat at their door. 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be in theaters on November 11th.