Tag: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Posted on in Film News

‘Black Panther 2’: Official Merchandise Promo Art Confirms Namor, Atlantis & Attuma 

When Narcos: Mexico breakout actor Tenoch Huerta was announced as playing a villain of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, everyone jumped on the idea he would be playing the MCU incarnation of Prince Namor McKenzie, aka, The Sub-Mariner. One of Marvel’s first superheroes and mutants that predates the popular Stan Lee era. 

Now, Huerta’s role as Namor has been confirmed thanks to the official promo artwork that circulated on Twitter (via @MCU_Facility) over the weekend. It shows Namor in mesoamerican Indigenous garb along with another image with Namor wearing a headdress that seems to be honoring Tepeyollotl, the Aztec jaguar god that might share superhero similarities to Wakanda’s own feline god Bast. 

A welcomed update on the character’s origin. His original heroics saw him mostly destroying America’s WWII enemies including very racist depictions of the Japanese forces but would eventually be an important cog in the Fantastic Four comic books and the greater Marvel Comics universe. Namor has played both anti-hero, and villain at varying points of the comics and almost went to all-out nuclear war with Wakanda in the pages of The Defenders. So, having him join the Black Panther sequel was something many of us wanted to see going back to 2018. 

Not only that, the artwork also featured the Atlantis villain Attuma, who is expected to be an antagonist. How exactly Atlantis will be featured in the film remains to be seen but will hopefully be extremely different from the Aquaman films. 

Universal Pictures for the longest time held the solo film rights and even once attempted a feature film with Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines), but it never went in front of cameras. However, it looks like Marvel Studios figured out how to include him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but we don’t know if he’ll end up getting his own solo series or film down the road. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine that Namor could factor in future things like the Fantastic Four reboot, Doctor Strange 3, Captain America 4 (via a McGuggin like the Serpent Crown), or even a big crossover event like Secret Wars as a supporting character. 

We’ll likely see some first-look images or even teaser footage at San Diego Comic-Con later this month as the Black Panther sequel is heading to theaters on November 11 and promotion for the film will likely begin as soon as Thor: Love & Thunder is released into the wild later this week.

Posted on in Film News, News

Marvel Studios Movie Lineup In 2022-2023 Get Adjusted Release Dates

Today, Disney has announced a wave of new adjustments to their upcoming film slates for Marvel Studios movies in 2022 and 2023. Two dates previously set for untitled Marvel projects on July 28 and October 6 have been removed from the schedule.

Below is what the new lineup looks like.

  • DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS – MAY 6, 2022 
  • THOR: LOVE & THUNDER – JULY 8, 2022
  • BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – NOVEMBER 11, 2022 
  • THE MARVELS – FEBRUARY 17, 2023
  • GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.3 – MAY 5, 2023
  • ANT-MAN & THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA – JULY 28, 2023
  • UNTITLED MARVEL STUDIOS MOVIE – NOVEMBER 10, 2023

There is a good shot that Bassam Tariq’s Blade reboot is taking that November spot in 2023 given that project seems further along than either Deadpool 3 (a director has yet to be announced) or Jon Watts’ Fantastic Four (reportedly doesn’t have a script).

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in Film News, News

Letitia Wright Reportedly Still Spreading Anti-Vaccine Conspiracies On ‘Black Panther 2’ Set

Back in December, Black Panther actress Letitia Wright posted a video on her Twitter account that questioned vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine and when fans questioned her on spreading conspiracy theories she spouted some weird religious statements in replies. After all that got media attention she apologized and then deleted the account.

Fellow MCU actor Don Cheadle briefly tried to defend the actress on Twitter before realizing what she was spreading around and quickly backtracked that support.

Well, it’s now October and there is a report from The Hollywood Reporter that Wright is still pushing those conspiracies on the set of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in Atlanta and that fallout from December led her American reps to part ways.

A number of performers, from Rob Schneider (now shooting Netflix’s Home Team) to Letitia Wright (filming Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) have shared anti-vaccine positions on social media. In Wright’s case, a set source says she has espoused similar views about the COVID-19 vaccines on the Atlanta production. The British actress quietly parted ways with her entire U.S. team of representatives in the wake of a backlash over posting a controversial anti-vaccine video in December.

The interesting part mentioned is that Disney are not requiring vaccines and that won’t be instituted until mid-October, meaning that Black Panther 2 and other productions that have started are exempt from the new sticker system (potentially putting cast and crew at risk).

Disney, the studio behind Black Panther, will begin rolling out a sticker system on all of its new productions in mid-October that requires visible proof of COVID-19 vaccination status, as stipulated in a return-to-work agreement between AMPTP and Hollywood’s unions. Those in Zone A who are fully vaccinated will have a wristband. Those who are not, will not. (Anything already shooting is not covered.)

While it’s unknown what Wright’s vaccine status actually is, the actress was sent to a hospital after an on-set accident and could have put people that were in contact with her during that treatment at risk, including hospital staff and other patients.

This is extremely odd in retrospect, since someone that might have been immune-compromised (like the late Chadwick Boseman) could have been at greater risk for seriously illness or death by interacting with unvaccinated co-stars/crew members.

Not to mention the irony that Wright’s character Shuri is supposed be the brightest scientists in the MCU and the woman playing her seems to be anti-science.

Black Panther: Wakanda releases on July 8, 2022.

SOURCE: THR

Posted on in Film News, News, Television News

Oscar-Winning Composer Ludwig Göransson To Score ‘The Book Of Boba Fett’ Alongside ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

After winning on Oscar for Black Panther and an Emmy for The Mandalorian, Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson is cementing a working relationship with Disney. He’s set to score Pixar’s upcoming Toronto-set animated film Turning Red and there is even more.

It was announced earlier in the month by Göransson to Variety, that he would be reuniting with director Ryan Coogler for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and he’s even doing a second Star Wars show on top of that.

Film Music Reporter has revealed that the composer is also working on The Book of Boba Fett, the spinoff series of The Mandalorian focusing on the clone bounty hunter. The series wrapped months back with Lucasfilm previously announcing it will debut on Disney+ this December.

In the show, we’ll see further adventures of Boba Fett (played by Temuera Morrison) and his newly acquired partner Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), the stinger teased he’ll attempt to either get revenge or take over the underworld returning to his gangster life.

We wouldn’t be shocked if Ludwig Göransson is also going to work on the third season of The Mandalorian or the Rosario Dawson spinoff Ahsoka, it’s only a matter of time before that is made official.

While it’s likely, a second season for The Book of Boba Fett hasn’t been hinted to or announced by Disney/Lucasfilm.

The Black Panther sequel will be released on July 8, 2022, with a returning cast that consists of Danai Gurira as Okoye, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Angela Bassett as Romonda, and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross.

New additions to the cast for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are expected to include Dominique Thorne (Judas & The Black Messiah) making her MCU debut as Riri Williams (getting her own Disney+ series Ironheart) alongside Emmy-winner Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You, Black Mirror) and Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico).

SOURCE: FILM MUSIC REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Black Panther 2’ Enlists ‘Inception’ Supervising Art Director Brad Ricker

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has been filming over the summer in Atlanta with Ryan Coogler back as director and co-writer. The sequel will be released on July 8, 2022, with a returning cast that consists of Danai Gurira as Okoye, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Angela Bassett as Romonda, and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross.

Oscar-winning production designer Hannah Beachler is officially back for the sequel and The Ronin can confirm she’ll get help from veteran supervising art director Brad Ricker.

The art director’s extensive credits include a solid amount of action projects such as The Tomorrow War, Christopher Nolan’s Inception, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Michael Bay’s Bad Boys II, J.J. Abrams’ Mission: Impossible III, Suicide Squad, and a portion of Ghost In The Shell.

Fellow Oscar winners Ruth E. Carter (Coming 2 America) and Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson (Turning Red, The Mandalorian) are set to return too.

Loki’s director of photography, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, will take over duties from Rachel Morrison.

Dominique Thorne (Judas & The Black Messiah) will make her MCU debut as Riri Williams (getting her own Disney+ series Ironheart) alongside new additions to the cast like Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You, Black Mirror) and Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico) their roles have yet to be officially named by the studio.

Online rumors have suggested that Namor McKenzie and The Kingdom of Atlantis will feature heavily in the movie. Wakanda and Atlantis have fought each other in the comic books, so it makes sense from that standpoint.

There have been teases that Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character Valentina Allegra de Fontaine will make an appearance in the new film after showing up in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier and in a button scene from Black Widow.

One glaring issue is how Marvel Studios and the writers will deal with the death of star Chadwick Boseman, as the studio has stated they won’t be bringing him back with CGI or recasting the T’Challa role. A common assumption is that the film will feature the choosing of a new king/queen and Black Panther.

A Wakanda focused Disney+ series is also on the way from Ryan Coogler.

BLACK PANTHER – After the death of his father, T’Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king — and as Black Panther — gets tested when he’s drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Black Panther 2’: Kevin Feige Confirms Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams Will Debut In Sequel Before ‘Ironheart’ Series

After rumors from folks like Geeks Worldwide that Riri Williams would be making her debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel’s Kevin Feige has now confirmed this to Comic Book/Phase Zero and adding that actress Dominique Thorne has already started shooting scenes.

“We’re shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, right now, and the character of Riri Williams, you will meet in Black Panther 2 first. She started shooting, I think, this week before her Ironheart series.”

Williams being introduced could have something to do with Wakanda investing in STEM programs as mentioned at the end of the original film. It’ll be interesting to see if Riri will have time to have a full origin explored or just teased leading into her solo series, Ironheart.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will hit theaters on July 8, 2022.

SOURCE: COMIC BOOK

Posted on in Features

The Serpent Crown Could Be Next Big McGuffin Coming To The MCU Leading To Lumerians & The Serpent Society

Yesterday, fans discovered the possibility of Namor (Prince of Atlantis) villain Gargantos being involved in a fight sequence in Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. It felt like a big hint that Namor is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or even the Doctor Strange sequel after Scott Derrickson had teased on Twitter before deleting the post and exiting the film leading to rewrites from Michael Waldron (Loki).

Despite believable rumors of Namor (alongside other characters) showing up in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Atlantis and Wakanda having battled each other before), neither the trades nor Marvel Studios have confirmed this exciting potential. Given that Angela Bassett told Entertainment Tonight there have been at least five versions of the script means that things could have been tweaked/changed over the last year or two.

“There have been about five incarnations of the script and I hear another one’s coming,” Bassett said of the script development of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

While the Darkhold (book of dark magic) is being introduced in WandaVision and should play a large role in Doctor Strange 2, we could be seeing more dangerous items falling into the wrong hands.

The addition of Gargantos may mean another dangerous McGuffin could be coming to the MCU as well. As the comic that featured Gargantos included the former ruler of Atlantis, Naga of Lumeria. The Lumerians are sort of antagonists to the Atlanteans, and their leader Naga wears an object of interest of Marvel Comics, the Serpent Crown. Interestingly enough, Captain America: The Winter Soldier gave them a brief nod with the SHIELD ship in the opening sequence being called The Lumerian Star (seemingly a HYDRA operation).

The Serpent Crown has connections to various villains such as Mephisto (Marvel’s cosmic version of the Devil), Ophelia Sarkissian aka Viper, The Serpent Society (once led by Sarkissian), and the aforementioned Naga of Lumeria.

In the comics, Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and the Thing teamed up to fight against Quasar, who was possessed by the Serpent Crown.

The Serpent Society connection is a big standout here. Mainly, because it was the fake title (Captain America: Serpent Society) used before Kevin Feige announced that they would be making Captain America: Civil War and announced the casting of Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther. There had been reports that The Falcon & The Winter Soldier head writer Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson had been assigned to write Captain America 4, assumed to star Anthony Mackie. So, setting up the Serpent Society as a threat or giving clues to the Serpent Crown beforehand would be a good way to go.

The Serpent Society has a connection to Lumeria, which makes the Lumerian Star tease in Captain America: The Winter Soldier even more interesting given that it was controlled by HYDRA. Viper, also goes by the codename Madame Hydra. They could easily become the successors to HYDRA and make for foes for Sam Wilson’s new Captain America or even the Thunderbolts.

I wouldn’t be that shocked if Val (was an incarnation of Madame Hydra in the comics) or Sharon Carter’s Power Broker are part of this MCU incarnation of The Serpent Society, given that Viper once controlled the island nation of Madripoor, which seemingly we’ll be revisiting in the future possibly in Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings.

Roxxon’s Hugh Jones (who appeared in Agents of SHIELD) attempted to use the Serpent Crown to gain control of the U.S. government in the comics, it’s possible the MCU could reboot that character as they have with the Darkhold in WandaVision. The Loki series, that gave us a true introduction to The Multiverse, featured Roxxon’s Walmart proxy Roxxcart.

I guess we’ll have to wait on March 25, 2022 to known for sure if Namor, Atlantis, and The Serpent Crown are coming.

Posted on in Film News, News

Michaela Coel Joins ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ In Mystery MCU Role

Marvel announced that production has started on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever recently in Atlanta with Ryan Coogler back as co-writer and director on the Black Panther sequel. The studio, cast, and crew are still mourning the loss of Chadwick Boseman, who died after a battle with colon cancer last summer.

There is news coming from Variety that Marvel has cast actress Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) in an undisclosed MCU role.

We could easily speculate that the could be someone like Princess Zanda of Narobia or someone more familar to audiences such as Ororo Munroe (X-Men’s Storm). However, it’s unknown if Marvel is ready to introduce main X-Men members anytime soon.

Various online rumors have pointed to the inclusion of Doctor Doom and Namor The Submariner, but neither have been confirmed officially as Marvel still hasn’t announced a villain for Black Panther 2.

I’m still interested to see their angle to move on from T’Challa and Chadwick Boseman, as they’ve said they don’t want to recast the role.

The sequel will be released on July 8, 2022 with a returning cast that includes Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong’o, Florence Kasumba, and Martin Freeman. A Wakanda focused Disney+ series is also on the way from Ryan Coogler.

BLACK PANTHER – After the death of his father, T’Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king — and as Black Panther — gets tested when he’s drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Television News

Marvel Studios Sets Up LLC For Upcoming Wakanda Project From Ryan Coogler

The Ronin can confirm and exclusively reveal a brand new Marvel Studios LLC company as they’ve set the name as Maglev Train Productions. It’s been announced a while back that Ryan Coogler would be behind a Wakanda series for Disney+ from Marvel Studios’ team. Maglev Train Productions, is likely a direct nod to the train system in Wakanda and was the location of the big third act fight between Killmonger and T’Challa.

Just so people don’t get confused thinking this would be for Black Panther 3, the first two movies used the LLCs Kimoyo Productions (Black Panther) and Kimoyo Productions II (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). A reference to the tech-based bracelet multiple characters from Wakanda wear.

This means the untitled Wakanda project is officially a go at Marvel Studios.

However, we’re still waiting on some concrete details about the project and how they’ll move forward with the Black Panther franchise without recasting the T’Challa role. It’s been expected that we could see a series focus on the female warriors of Wakanda, the Dora Milaje.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently filming in Atlanta under the working title Summer Break with Ryan Coogler back as director and has a release date of July 8, 2022.

Posted on in Film News

‘Loki’ Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw Reveals She Is Working On ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

It looks like with production underway in Atlanta this week on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that the sequel is going ahead as planned.

Interestingly enough, Loki cinematographer Autumn Durlad Arkapaw has posted a video on Instagram of director Ryan Coogler playing basketball on a court. This seemingly confirms she’s working on the film as Black Panther’s cinematographer Rachel Morrison is busy on her own project.

Morrison adding fuel herself by sending her love with a reply on the post from June 18 and further confirming that Autumn is working on the Black Panther sequel. Auntumn Durald Arkapaw was recently in Atlanta working on their DIsney+ series Loki and has a fantastic eye as the show is one of the best looking projects to date.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to be released on July 8, 2022.

SOURCE: AUTUMN DURALD ARAKAPAW