Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

In 2020, the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman rocked the Marvel and Black Panther fandoms to the core. Boseman was Black Panther. The late actor embodied all that the character stood for and more, so to imagine the franchise continuing without him felt inconceivable. While still grieving the loss of a friend, director Ryan Coogler was tasked with the feat of crafting a new script for a film he had previously planned to tell a very different story in. The end result was Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel's most emotional and powerful film which masterfully celebrated the legacy of Boseman and his character, T'Challa, through a moving exploration of grief and celebration of life. Throughout the film, Boseman's presence is felt as Wakanda Forever honors his legacy in a way that allows for moments of pause and reflection, while still moving the franchise into the future through its beautiful storytelling which serves to remind fans, as T'Challa once said, “Death is not the end. It’s more of a stepping-off point”Although the character now behind the Black Panther mask has changed, the legacy of both Boseman and King T'Challa will live on for generations to come.

To honor and celebrate the life of Chadwick Boseman, fans across the globe donned all-white as a tribute designed to reflect the culture and mourning connected to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In wearing white to see Wakanda Forever, the hope among fans, as described by Anthony Bryant, who launched the call to action, was to “unify and symbolize hope as we move forward, not just as Marvel fans but as a global community.“

When fans look back on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever a decade from now, they'll do so with both sorrow and bliss remembering it as both a tribute to and celebration of Chadwick Boseman. It'll be remembered as a film that managed to do the impossible by somehow picking up the fragments of a franchise shrouded in grief and uncertainty, and piecing them back together to deliver one of Marvel's most poignant and powerful films.