The latest film from Marvel Studios was largely self-contained, though there are a few nods and teases at other events in Black Panther. But the film’s ending brings the story full circle, focusing on the Kingdom of Wakanda and T’Challa’s role as a ruler.
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But director Ryan Coogler considered a different ending for the movie, changing the order of the post-credits teases and how they build toward Avengers: Infinity War. Coogler revealed the changes he considered in the new episode of the Empire Film Podcast.
“We played with a lot of different ways to end it. We went back and forth about the U.N., and we had a version where it was the U.N. before the scenes in Oakland at the end,” said Coogler. “But we really kind of settled on how do we want the movie to end? And it came back to that symmetry, and it came back to the most moving version of it. That’s what we were asking ourselves, ‘Who’s more moved emotionally, that kid or the people sitting in the U.N.?’ Who is that a bigger deal to for T’Challa to walk in, who’s more connected to him?”
The ending shows T’Challa and Shuri visiting the building where Erik Killmonger and his father lived, where T’Chaka killed his brother, in Oakland, California. The King of Wakanda reveals he purchased all of the surrounding buildings to see up the first Wakandan Outreach center. A child walks up to him and asks who he is, making a meta-commentary about what Black Panther means to the MCU and to the fans of the film.
The post-credits scene positions T’Challa and Wakanda for the future of Marvel Studios movies, including what will happen in Avengers: Infinity War.
“As a kid, growing up, when you see somebody who looks like an older version of you doing something awesome, it’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ That’s kind of what that moment… We kind of went with the less distilled emotion, and the U.N. makes sense afterwards for where Wakanda could be going in the future of this universe,” Coogler said.
Coogler also said that one of T’Challa’s biggest flaws is being too traditionalist, defined by his father’s actions, and reactionary to what Wakanda already is. In Black Panther, T’Challa realizes that Wakanda can be much more and decides to move forward, echoing the African proverb in the beginning of the film:
“In times of crisis, the wise build bridges, while the foolish build walls.”
Black Panther is now playing in theaters.
