Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M'Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fight to protect the kingdom of Wakanda from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for their nation.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 6, 2025
Wakanda Forever packs an emotional punch. Themes of grief and loss in the wake of T’challa’s death run throughout the film, but they are inextricably tied to the real-life untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman. As such the film serves as a moving tribute to the late actor, and features some truly heart-rending moments. Angela Bassett and Letitia Wright give powerful performances with accompanying lush visuals and propulsive score from Ludwig Göransson—my favorite working composer in the business right now. The film isn’t without some of the typical MCU trappings though. There’s still obligatory ties to the greater MCU, setups for future films and/or TV shows and feels a tad overlong. And though Coogler does his best to give Namor (Tenoch Huerta), sufficient backstory and motivations, it still doesn’t really hold a candle to what he accomplished with Killmonger in the first film, Not to take anything away from Huerta, though, because he is truly excellent in the role.
Wakanda Forever is easily the best film in the post-Infinity Saga MCU. While it’s emotionally satisfying to see this film pay tribute to Boseman, it never fully emerges from the shadow cast by his passing. Absolutely worth seeing in theaters. I’m probably going to see it again this weekend with my kids.