How Black Panther: Wakanda Forever pays tribute to Chadwick Boseman

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a touching tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who played T'Challa in the original movie

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
(Image credit: Marvel)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the most emotional Marvel movie to date. The sequel deals with the passing of King T'Challa, mirroring the real death of Chadwick Boseman, who played the character in the original Black Panther, as well as the Avengers movies. He last portrayed the character through voice work in the animated Marvel series What If..?.

Boseman died in August 2020, aged 43, following a four-year battle with colon cancer. The script for Black Panther 2 was first drafted with T'Challa as the lead; director Ryan Coogler previously revealed that the story was always about grief, but the original plan was for T'Challa to be mourning his time lost to 'the Blip' – the five years spent in dust following Thanos' attack on the universe.

Wakanda Forever instead sees Shuri and Ramonda, the queen of Wakanda, mourn the loss of T'Challa to a mystery disease, not revealed in the movie. The sequel's introductory credits are also a tribute to Boseman's time as the Black Panther – images of him as the character are shown on the Marvel logo and the usual fanfare music is completely removed.

The movie pays various tributes to him later, but going further requires us to go into spoiler territory for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

How Black Panther: Wakanda Forever addresses Chadwick Boseman's death

The mystery illness that kills T'Challa is never revealed in Wakanda Forever, but we do know that the Heart-Shaped Herb – the flower used to give Black Panthers their power – could have saved him. Shuri managed to recreate one later in the movie, eventually ingesting the plant and becoming the new Black Panther.

Shuri and the others in Wakanda mourn T'Challa's death throughout the movie, though, by the end, they come to terms with their leader's passing. During the final scene, Shuri goes to a beach in Haiti and burns the clothes she wore during the funeral procession – a symbolic move showing that the grieving period has come to an end. Shuri cries for her brother as images of Boseman's Black Panther appear on screen. A touching tribute to an actor who made a huge impact on the world.

Discussing the impact of Boseman’s death on Black Panther 2, Coogler told Variety: "Where we started was this idea of who would be the most affected by his loss. Shuri had never known a day without him. He'd always been there, so she would be the most unmoored by him passing away."

Early on in Wakanda Forever, we see Ramonda doing the same and telling Shuri that she has something to say about T'Challa. The secret is unfortunately not revealed at that moment as they are interrupted by Namor. In the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever post-credits scene, we learn what T'Challa had been hiding: he had a son, also named T'Challa. In the comics, T'Challa has a son named Azari with X-Men member Storm – it appears the movie version has been changed to pay tribute to Boseman's T'Challa.

For more on Boseman's impactful career, you can read our tribute to the great, endearing actor, remembering his various stand-out roles and impact on culture on a larger level. 

For more of your Black Panther 2 needs, check out our guides to:

Jack Shepherd
Jack Shepherd
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.