After all, with Boseman passing away, Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger dying in Black Panther, and Daniel Kaluuya not returning for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it seems like M’Baku and Everett Ross are the sole two male characters coming back. So, since the trailer heavily hints at the new Black Panther being one of the women from Wakanda, it makes perfect sense that the likes of Shuri, Nakia, Okoye, and Queen Ramonda are heavily featured in the promotional efforts for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
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The official Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer shared by Marvel Studios was accompanied by a poster that featured a much sober image of T’Challa’s empty helmet in all black, people close to the studio posted some more colorful work. This work included a poster made by Marvel Studios’ Head of Visual Development, character designer and concept artist, Ryan Meinerding (@MeinerdingArt). The poster in question was first posted by writer Angélique Roché and it features a T’Challa in a purple background with Nakia, Ramonda, and Shuri in the center of artwork.
It’s unclear whether this or something similar could end up being used as an official poster for the film. After all, at this stage it’s likely the marketing team would prefer to keep the memory of Boseman in the spotlight. Although M’Baku will surely want a shot at the Wakandan throne and the chance to take the heart-shaped purple herb, Shuri looks like a more viable candidate to do so for now.
Posters for the original Black Panther movie were a controversial subject for Disney back in 2018 when the company altered artwork showing Boseman’s face to instead display a masked version of the superhero exclusively for the Chinese market. The latter seems like an unlikely proposition at this stage because while Black Panther: Wakanda Forever didn’t show anything that might outright sound off the alarm from Chinese censors, China’s anti-Marvel stance appears to have hardened past previous guidelines in Phase Four.
With a rumored Black Panther video game on the way and the Prologue music releasing its version of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry," the road to the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiere looks promising.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is scheduled to release in theaters on November 11, 2022.
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Source: Angelique Roche | Twitter
