Black Panther mid-credits scene explained

The first scene to hit after the credits start rolling for Black Panther signals a change in the status quo for Wakanda after the events of the film.

Note: This article contains pretty serious spoilers for Black Panther that are necessary for talking about its mid-credits scene. We’ve done our duty by letting you know.

It was pretty funny seeing people leave Black Panther once the final scene was complete, just because you know by now that any Marvel Cinematic Universe movie is going to have at least one and possibly two extra scenes or stingers. Sure enough, this one has two of them, though neither is particularly Earth-shattering.

The mid-credits scene doesn’t do much to advance the overall narrative of the MCU, but it does at least lay out what T’Challa has in mind for his nation’s place in the world going forward. With both Nakia and Okoye there to support him, T’Challa addresses the United Nations and explains that Wakanda will no longer be as secretive as it once was.

A PowerPoint slide to one side of him teases the information exchange and outreach program he had Shuri help set up in the final scene before the credits. Alas, someone calls him on it, asking what a nation of farmers could possibly have to show the rest of the world. T’Challa flashes a wry half-smile before the scene quickly fades to black.

Obviously, the expectation here is that Wakanda is ready to share some of its incredible technological advances with the rest of the world. That should be interesting indeed, but it comes with its own set of questions that aren’t likely to be answered soon since the country, like the rest of the MCU Earth, is about to be in the crosshairs of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.

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Even so, it helps finish off T’Challa’s character arc as it shows he’s willing to be his own king. Self-confidence isn’t much of an issue for his comic book counterpart, and it looks like the MCU monarch is well on his way to charting his own path for king and country in the sequels you know are coming from Marvel at some point.