‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Shoot Finally Resumes After Delays
About two months after production on the film shut down, work has resumed on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The film reportedly went on hiatus to allow time for actress Letitia Wright to recover from an on-set injury that happened when a stunt went wrong while the movie shooting on location in Boston.
According to a letter sent to the film’s cast and crew at the time of the shutdown (via Deadline) what Marvel “initially thought were minor injuries turned out to be much more serious with Letitia suffering a critical shoulder fracture, and a concussion with severe side effects.” Several months later, according to the BBC, work has finally resumed on the film, with Wright’s spokesperson telling the station "filming resumed this month as planned and we're on schedule.”
That does not leave director Ryan Coogler much time to finish the movie if it will debut as planned; Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently scheduled to open in theaters on November 11, 2022. The film has already been delayed twice, from May 2022 to July 2022 and then to November. And of course, the film suffered an enormous setback during preproduction when the franchise’s original star, Chadwick Boseman, died after a battle with colon cancer.
Marvel has made it clear that Boseman’s role as King T’Challa of Wakanda will never be recast, and it hasn’t been announced who in Wakanda Forever will inherit the role of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new Black Panther. Based on Marvel’s comics, and on the events of the first Black Panther, Wright’s character is clearly one of the top contenders, and regardless she should be a major role in the sequel. Other returning actors from the first movie include Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, and Winston Duke.