Black Panther director Ryan Coogler revealed that the original plan for the sequel was miles different from the end product. Everything changed after the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020, and the franchise was even on the verge of cancellation.
Marvel Studios gave a go signal to produce the sequel as soon as the 2018 movie hit the theaters. Coogler worked on the script immediately with Joe Robert Cole, and they provided a new adventure for King T’Challa, completed it, and forwarded it to Boseman. Little did everyone know, the actor was gone too soon.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Original Plot Included A Father-And-Son Narrative
After Boseman’s death, the franchise went through a tumultuous situation: Coogler almost walked away from the movie, and many worried if there would still be something to look forward to. But, the collective efforts of the fans and the team behind Black Panther anchored the franchise into a new dawn, and now, for the first time ever, Coogler sheds light on the process that went on during the most crucial stage of the film.
In an interview with The New York Times, the director revealed the initial plot for Wakanda Forever was a “father-son story” that revolves around T’Challa and his son, Toussaint. With this information, fans would immediately recognize that the sequel was far from the original version, and it would have picked up within the timeframe after T’challa disappeared from the snap. During this time, Nakia (played by Lupita Nyong’o) gave birth to Toussaint.
“In the script, T’Challa was a dad who’d had this forced five-year absence from his son’s life. The first scene was an animated sequence. You hear Nakia talking to Toussaint. She says, ‘Tell me what you know about your father.’ You realize that he doesn’t know his dad was the Black Panther. He’s never met him, and Nakia is remarried to a Haitian dude. Then, we cut to reality, and it’s the night that everybody comes back from the Blip. You see T’Challa meet the kid for the first time.”
This would have made a mind-blowing and emotional movie experience for fans, seeing how a father would react to his son seeing him for the first time. Coogler said that they had a lot of “crazy scenes” for Boseman, but these never materialized.
On Revising The Script After Boseman’s Death
Coogler and Cole had to revise the entire script after Boseman’s departure. Now, fans have witnessed Shuri (Letitia Wright) as she took up the mantle of Black Panther. It was a challenging time for the cast and crew, but they stuck together and worked on the film to honor Boseman’s legacy.
In the final cut of the film, Toussaint (Divine Love Konadu-Sun) appeared in the end-credits scene. Shuri travels to Haiti to visit Nakia and finally meet her nephew.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently showing in theaters.
Source: Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times
