It has been two years since the ‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman passed away. He died due to a long struggle with colon cancer. The actor was locked to star in the sequel of the Marvel Studios’ mega motion picture ‘Black Panther 2‘. However, the sudden demise of the actor put a question mark on the future of the franchise. Nonetheless, the studio went ahead and filmed the sequel without King T’Challa of Wakanda. The film made a conscious effort to pay tribute to the late star.
The teaser of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ was touted as the ‘best MCU trailer’. The makers confirmed that Chadwick’s King T’Challa will not be recast, but the story of the Wakanda residents will continue. In the trailer, however, we see a street mural of the late Wakandan King with something written in Nsibidi script. In a lot of ways, the makers did not leave any stone unturned to commemorate the legacy of the actor and the character even with costumes.
Also Read: Still Processing Chad’s Loss: Kevin Feige Talks About Not Recasting T’Challa For Black Panther 2
Black Panther 2 Costume Designer Breaks Down The Tribute Paid To Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick was an actor par excellence. The cultural representation and the powerful performance he brought to the film left an indelible mark on the audience. When he left us, he also left the legacy of the character behind. The studio and makers were not sure how to keep the legacy intact while continuing the glorious Wakandan universe. So, they decided to pay tribute to the actor in various ways with this sequel. One of the ways that they extended the tribute was through the costume department.
In Marvel films the costume, especially, the suit of the superhero is essential. Ruth E. Carter, the Oscar-winning costume designer, told Variety about how they paid tribute to the late actor. For her, the white color costumes that we witnessed in the teaser were “very specific and meaningful”. She said that along with connecting the color to the African roots, it paid tribute to the actor.
Carter explained, “In the Ancestral Plane, when T’Challa wakes up and sees his father, he’s wearing white. White is a color that’s worn in a lot of funerals in Africa — it’s either bright red or it’s white — and we chose white because it connects us to Chadwick, to T’Challa.”
How The Suit For T’Challa’s Successor In The Film Was Created
Ruth told also talked about the costume creation of the successor without hinting at who will wear it. She said, “There was a very careful study of how do we make this person a superhero without changing them so much, that it’s not believable as them.”
Ruth continued, “This one has silver and gold elements [while] our beloved Chadwick Boseman’s suit was all silver, so that already made it a lot more glamorous for the wearer.”
In the trailer, the makers also presented us with the street mural of Boseman aka King T’Challa’s mural written in Nsibidi script. It is speculated that it reads “The king lives and the panther… forever in us.” The sequel will depict the war between Wakanda and the secret city of Atlantis in the water. It continues the story of Shuri, Nakia, Okoye, and Queen Ramonda. Fans speculated that the heir to the Wakanda throne will be Shuri.
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ will be released in theaters on November 11, 2022.
Also Read: Top 5 Most Powerful Black Panther Variants
