New trailer for Wakanda Forever gives us a peek at the new Black Panther

Still reeling from the death of their king T’Challa, the people of Wakanda face a new threat from a feathered serpent god in the new trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It’s the final film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four, although technically, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, slated for a December release on Disney+, will be the official conclusion.

As we’ve reported previously, Wakanda Forever was already in development when Chadwick Boseman—who played T’Challa in 2018’s Black Panther—died of colon cancer in August 2020. Director Ryan Coogler, Marvel’s Kevin Feige, and many others had been unaware that Boseman was ill. They decided not to recast T’Challa, nor would they try to insert the character using visual effects, although most of the other main cast members are returning. So the finished film is, in many ways, a tribute to Boseman.

There are plenty of familiar faces in Wakanda Forever. Per the official premise, “Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba) fight to protect their nation 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 (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.”

Among the new faces is Namor (Tenoch Huerta), the king of a tribe that lives underwater in a world called Talokan (previously assumed by many to be Atlantis). The film will also introduce a new Black Panther—possibly Shuri, who takes up the mantle in the comics, although this has not been confirmed—as well as Riri Williams, aka Ironheart (Dominique Thorne), a teen tech genius who is a protegé of Tony Stark in the comics. (Thorne will also portray Riri in the forthcoming Ironheart series on Disney+.) Isaach de Bankolé, Dorothy Steel, and Danny Sapani reprise their roles as the Wakandan River Tribe, Merchant Tribe, and Border Tribe elders, respectively, while Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli will play Namor’s cousin Namora and the Talocan warrior Attuma, respectively.

The somber, elegiac first teaser for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuted at Comic-Con in July; we thought it really captured the grief and sense of loss regarding the death of T’Challa (and Chadwick Boseman). And just last month, D23 Expo attendees were treated to new footage showing the broader impact, especially the political ramifications.

At the end of Black Panther, T’Challa revealed the true nature of Wakanda and its vast vibranium resources to the assembled representatives at the United Nations. The footage opened with Queen Ramonda facing an angry UN to defend the hiding of Wakanda’s resources. This was intercut with scenes of soldiers invading a vibranium plant; they were foiled by Okoye and a host of Dora Milaje. The rest of the footage concerned Talokan and Namor, who feared that T’Challa’s big reveal had put his own land at risk.

The new trailer opens with T’Challa’s funeral, interspersed with scenes of Talokan and accompanied by a brief voiceover from Namor: “Only the most broken people can be great leaders.” And we learn from M’Baku—whose mountain tribe is no longer isolated from the rest of Wakanda—that Namor isn’t deemed a mere general or king by his people: “They call him K’uk’ulkan, the feather serpent god. Killing him will risk eternal war.” But believing that Wakanda has lost its protector with the death of T’Challa, it seems Namor is now gunning to take over the surface world.

That likely means war with Wakanda, and we will clearly be getting plenty of action on that score. There are several shots of Namor flying through the sky, courtesy of his winged ankles, and Wakanda amassing its considerable resources in response to the looming threat. We see Riri working on her Ironheart costume and taking to the skies (“Let’s go!”). The trailer ends with a tantalizing shot of the new Black Panther with a distinctly feminine silhouette.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11, 2022.

Listing image by Marvel Studios