Comic-Con: Boseman honoured as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer unveiled

By Rebecca SealesBBC News, Comic-Con San Diego

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Lupita Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Florence Kasumba and Winston Duke were all present at the event

Marvel Studios has unveiled the trailer for November’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to eager fans, who roared their approval in a boisterous session at Comic-Con in San Diego.

The film is the sequel to 2018’s Black Panther, which starred the late Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, the heroic crime-fighting king of Wakanda, a fictional African country with incredibly advanced technology.

The trailer opens with a woman singing No Woman, No Cry, but there were some tears on stage as Boseman’s castmates spoke of how much it meant to them to honour his memory through this new project.

Ryan Coogler, returning to direct the new chapter which is expected to focus on Wakanda’s history, spoke about how excited the T’Challa actor had been to see the first Black Panther footage five years ago at Comic-Con.

“I can feel his hand on me now,” he said.

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Ryan Coogler is returning to direct the new chapter

Also reprising their roles are British star Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri – the Black Panther’s sister – and Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, an undercover spy in service to Wakanda.

Before the cast took the stage, a group of musicians and dancers playing African drums and vocalising gave a spine-tingling performance that had the crowd on their feet.

Wakanda Forever will introduce Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico), as anti-hero Namor McKenzie, known as the Sub-Mariner – confirming a long-standing rumour.

Addressing the fans, Huerta shared an emotional perspective on the power of inclusion, saying: “I come from the hood, seriously. And thanks to inclusion, I’m here. A lot of kids are there in their hood, looking at us, dreaming of being here. And they are going to make it!”

Other new additions to the cast include Michaela Coel of I Will Destroy You fame, and Dominique Thorne, making her Marvel debut as Riri Williams / Ironheart – a teenaged inventor who becomes a superhero (and will get her own show on Disney+ in 2023.)

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Michaela Coel, Dominique Thorne and Tenoch Huerta

The first Black Panther film took over a billion dollars at the box office, becoming the first superhero film nominated for the best picture Oscar – and a cultural milestone for diversity in filmmaking.

Marvel previously confirmed it would not be re-casting the role of T’Challa, a decision that has divided fans – some feeling it should forever belong to Boseman, who died of colon cancer in 2020, and some voices – including Boseman’s brother – saying it should pass to a new actor.

There has been speculation that the panther suit could now go to Shuri, and while that wasn’t confirmed – the very final frame of the trailer features a telltale flash of the Black Panther claws.

Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige confirmed during the session that the current cycle of Marvel films – Phase 4 – would end with Wakanda Forever on 11 November this year.

But teasing fans with a peek at the future, he leapt forward to discuss Phase 5, confirming that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – which stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man – will launch the new film cycle on 17 February.

Joining Feige on stage with the rest of the cast, Rudd was asked what his character has been up to lately.

“Scott is pretty pleased with himself for his role in saving the universe,” he confirmed, getting a big laugh – in a reference to previous Avengers films.

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Next in line will be Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, the final instalment of the space saga, set for release on 5 May. Director James Gunn got teary as he recalled pitching the franchise a decade ago this week in North Carolina, where Iron Man 3 was being filmed.

“They’ve saved the universe a few times, but really what they do is save each other,” he said.

“This is the end of that story. I’m saying some stories have an end. It doesn’t mean everybody dies!”

Gunn was joined on the famous Hall H stage by the film’s cast, and Chris Pratt (who plays Star-Lord) confirmed it was the first time they had seen the trailer – “it’s beautiful!”

Phase 5 will continue with The Marvels – in which Captain Marvel joins forces with Ms Marvel and Spectrum, aka Monica Rambeau.

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And it will conclude in July 2024 with Thunderbolts – but there was no team reveal today, so fans will have to wait a little longer to learn how that stacks up.

Die-hard fans were delighted when high priest of Marvel time-keeping Feige then launched into Phase 6 – confirming that the cycle will feature The Fantastic Four, release date 8 November, 2024 – but again, no casting just yet.

And we now know that Phase 6 will end towards the end of 2025 with two films: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars.

While Marvel doesn’t reveal in advance what it will discuss at San Diego Comic-Con – where some of the most successful films on record have debuted – its announcements were Saturday’s hottest ticket.

So far, 2022 has already seen the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, as well as TV series like Moon Knight and Miss Marvel.