The newest Marvel film is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Review Here) and it is a direct sequel to the 2018 Black Panther that was lead by Chadwick Boseman. The film’s events are set sometime after Endgame. Ryan Coogler has returned to write and direct the sequel. The film stars Letitia Wright, Angela Basset, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman, Winston Duke, Tenoch Huerta, Danai Gurira, etc. Letitia Wright’s Shuri is the real protagonist of the film as Chadwick Boseman has tragically passed away. The film was pretty much marketed as something that addresses grief everyone was experiencing after Boseman’s passing. The film just like any other Marvel had great first reactions but more than anything the one that caught my attention was that it was a mature film unlike other MCU ventures.
The last few Marvel films have deeply disappointed me to the point where I questioned my choice of films. However, I deeply respect and believe in Ryan Coogler as a filmmaker. So, I wanted to see what he had to bring in this array of disappointments that Marvel is churning out. The trailers for the film looked absolutely stunning and heart pounding. I conjured a lot of hope as I stepped into the theatres to watch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, hoping that the film is good, as I knew this would be my breaking point if I saw another mediocre venture from Marvel and it seems like Ryan Coogler has just managed to make this film work, without losing his voice as a filmmaker. However, it seems like some nations are just too regressed to adapt to the new world.
Black Panther 2 – Why Did Coogler Think He’ll Be Fired?
Ryan Coogler recently made an appearance for Kevin Polowy’s show from Yahoo Entertainment and there he revealed that there was a point when directing Black Panther 2 that he thought he was going to be fired by Marvel. Now this is interesting because Coogler has always been one of the better directors to lend his voice in the MCU, the way he has helmed the Black Panther franchise is commendable, especially after Bosemnan’s passing that made him change the entire script for the sequel. So, him believing that he was going to be fired is a bit much.
Let’s see why Coogler thought so, the dialogue between Polowy and Coogler is mentioned below:
Polowy: “What’s going through your head early on? Were there ever points where you didn’t even know if you could do this or–”
Coogler: “Yeah, yeah.”
Polowy: “–should do this?”
Coogler: “Yeah, you run the whole gambit, you know? ’Cause the first thing we were dealing with was shock… And then coming out of the shock, it was like, man, I didn’t wanna feel how I was feeling… So I thought a lot of irrational thoughts. But thankfully I had the time to let those thoughts pass and reflect, think about what was right and what [Chadwick] would want. There’s no way to call him and ask him… But… I actually think he communicated what he wanted to tell us through his actions. And I was trying to listen to that, interpret that, and made the call to keep going.”
Coogler finally got to the point where he thought he was going to be fired based on the conversation he had with Producer Moore.
Polowy: “I don’t think there’s any doubt he wanted you to keep going. I was telling Nate [Moore] the story about being with him on opening night of the first movie, we were at The Dime trying to celebrate and he’s in the corner on his phone the whole time. I’m going over to give him shit for being antisocial; he’s just tracking the box office numbers. Every once in a while, he’d show us and go… It meant so much to him for what it meant for the culture.”
Coogler: “He knew what it was gonna be. He was the only one who knew what it was gonna be while we were making it. And he would say that to me. I was convinced I was gonna get fired on that movie, ’cause we were falling behind.”
Coogler then revealed the reassuring words that he heard from Moore, “From our vantage point, I was like, ‘Oh, we not doin’ it. We not doin’ well.’ He was like, ‘Bro… man, you like killin’ it, man. Nobody’s firing you… I’m not gonna let that happen.’ (laughs) Like a hand on the shoulder kind of thing. He would come out, it’s like, ‘Yo, nobody’s gonna believe this. Nobody’s gonna be ready for this. This is Star Wars.’ He would say that. ‘This is Star Wars. Look at this.’ Like, he’d come on, and kinda be amazed at the sets, and point around, and look around…”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is playing in theatres near you.
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