Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a 2022 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shuri / Black Panther. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to Black Panther (2018) and the 30th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole, the film stars Letitia Wright as Shuri / Black Panther, alongside Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Martin Freeman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Angela Bassett. In the film, the leaders of Wakanda fight to protect their nation in the wake of King T'Challa's death.

Ideas for a sequel began after the release of Black Panther in February 2018. Coogler negotiated to return as director in the following months, and Marvel Studios officially confirmed the sequel's development in mid-2019. Plans for the film changed in August 2020 when Black Panther star and T'Challa actor Chadwick Boseman died from colon cancer, with Marvel choosing not to recast his role. The return of other main cast members from the first film was confirmed that November, and the sequel's title was revealed to be Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in May 2021. Filming began in late June in Atlanta, taking place at both Trilith Studios and Tyler Perry Studios, before moving to Massachusetts in August, but was halted in November to allow Wright to recover from an injury sustained during filming. It resumed by mid-January 2022 and wrapped in late March in Puerto Rico.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiered at the El Capitan Theatre and the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on October 26, 2022, and was released in the United States on November 11, as the final film in Phase Four of the MCU. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $859.2 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2022. Wakanda Forever and Bassett's performance received numerous awards and nominations, including five Academy Awards (winning Costume Design), one British Academy Film Award, six Critics' Choice Movie Awards (winning two), two Golden Globe Awards (winning one), and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. A spin-off miniseries focusing on Thorne's Riri Williams, Ironheart, premiered in June 2025. A sequel is in development for an expected 2028 release.

Plot

T'Challa, king of Wakanda, is suffering from a terminal illness which his sister Shuri believes can be cured by the "heart-shaped herb". Shuri attempts to synthetically recreate the herb after it was burned by Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, but fails to do so before T'Challa dies.

A year later, Wakanda faces pressure from other nations to share their vibranium, with attempts to steal it by force. Queen Ramonda urges Shuri to continue her herb research to create a new Black Panther, but Shuri refuses, believing the Black Panther is no longer needed. In the Atlantic, a U.S. expedition team uses a vibranium detector to find a deposit underwater, but a group of blue-skinned, water-breathing superhumans led by Namor kills them. The CIA suspects Wakanda's involvement. Namor confronts Ramonda and Shuri after bypassing Wakanda's security. He blames Wakanda for the vibranium race and gives them an ultimatum: hand over the scientist who created the detector or he will attack Wakanda.

Shuri and Okoye learn from CIA agent Everett K. Ross that the scientist is MIT student Riri Williams. They confront her at the university before being pursued by the FBI and Namor's warriors, who defeat Okoye and take Shuri and Williams underwater to meet Namor. Angered by Okoye's failure to protect Shuri, Ramonda strips her of her title as general of the Dora Milaje and seeks out Nakia, who has been living in Haiti since the Blip. Namor shows Shuri his vibranium-rich underwater kingdom of Talokan, protected for centuries from the surface world. Bitter at the surface world for the slavery and genocide of his people, Namor proposes an alliance with Wakanda against the rest of the world, threatening destruction if they refuse. Nakia helps Shuri and Williams escape, accidentally killing two Talokanil guards. Namor retaliates with an attack on Wakanda, during which Ramonda drowns while saving Williams. Namor vows to return with his army, and Wakanda's citizens relocate to the Jabari mountains for their safety. Meanwhile, Ross is arrested by his ex-wife, CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, for secretly exchanging classified intelligence with Wakandans.

After Ramonda's funeral, Shuri uses a remnant of the herb that gave Namor's people their superhuman abilities to reconstruct the heart-shaped herb. She ingests it, gaining superhuman abilities and meeting Killmonger in the Ancestral Plane, who questions if she will seek revenge or be as honorable as T'Challa. Shuri dons a new Black Panther suit and is accepted by the other Wakandan tribes as the Black Panther. Despite M'Baku's urges for peace, Shuri is determined to exact vengeance on Namor for Ramonda's death and orders an immediate counterattack on Talokan. Preparing for battle, with Ayo assuming the position of general of the Dora Milaje, Shuri bestows the Midnight Angel armor upon Okoye, who in turn recruits Dora Milaje member Aneka to join her. Williams creates an Iron Man-esque powered exoskeleton to aid the Wakandans.

The Wakandans use a seafaring vessel to lure Namor and his warriors to the surface with a vibranium detector as battle ensues. Shuri traps Namor in a fighter aircraft, aiming to weaken him. They crash on a desert beach and fight. Shuri gains the upper hand but sees a vision of Ramonda, urging Namor to yield and offering a peaceful alliance. Namor agrees, ending the battle. His cousin, Namora, is upset by the surrender, but he believes the alliance will strengthen Talokan. Williams returns to MIT, leaving her suit behind, while Okoye rescues Ross. Shuri plants more heart-shaped herbs to ensure the Black Panther mantle's future. In her absence, M'Baku challenges for the throne. Shuri visits Nakia in Haiti and burns her funeral robe to finally grieve for T'Challa, honoring Ramonda's wishes.

In a mid-credits scene, Shuri learns that Nakia and T'Challa had a son named Toussaint, whom Nakia has been raising in secret. Toussaint reveals his Wakandan name is T'Challa.