Following the tragedy of the loss of Chadwick Boseman, many Marvel fans were left wondering how the new Black Panther would follow in the footsteps of the old.

Director Ryan Coogler picks up where he left off in the newly released and awaited sequel, named “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

Although it’s clear to the audience that Chadwick’s presence as T’Challa, king of Wakanda is everlasting and hard to replace, Letitia Wright, better known as Shuri (younger sister of T’Challa and princess of Wakanda) provided an excellent performance filling the shoes of the late Black Panther. 

Instead of simply writing the character off and moving on with Shuri as the new Black Panther, much of the film is a tribute to the late Black Panther (by extension Chadwick Boseman) and does its best to give condolences throughout. 

The main antagonist, Namor (played by Tenoch Huerta), was a welcome addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his charismatic performance and menacing presence from beginning to end.

Once again, the futuristic aesthetic and appreciation of culture is present in the sequel to Black Panther.

When watching the film, the only problem I had was with the new addition to the MCU, Ironheart.

Ironheart, played by Dominique Thorne, is a character who is meant to fill the role of a new Iron Man type hero. 

While her performance wasn’t bad, I feel the character was shoehorned in for the purpose of replacing Tony Stark as the new Iron superhero. 

Seeing the emotional turmoil that Shuri goes through in the film is truly impactful though, seeing as she lost her brother, her protector, the one she looks up to all hinging on a failure in the process of healing him.

I believe the movie was phenomenal, an incredibly emotional tale that continues the legacy of the Black Panther without dishonoring Chadwick.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” premiered Nov. 11, and stars Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta, Dominique Thorne, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, and Martin Freeman.