Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Trailer Breakdown: Everything's Gonna Be Alright

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" seemed to be in a precarious position. Considering it was a sequel to one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's greatest home runs, and director Ryan Coogler was back at the helm, it should've been a surefire success. But the tragic passing of star Chadwick Boseman put the movie in an awkward position: a film without an obvious lead. Marvel Studios made the smart move and confirmed that Boseman's character, T'Challa, would not be recast. The burning question then became how the film would handle his absence.

According to the first "Wakanda Forever" trailer, which premiered on Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con, T'Challa's absence is very much central to the film. Encompassing themes of grief, celebration, and hope, the trailer does not reveal which character will be taking up the mantle of Black Panther next, but it does highlight the strength of T'Challa's family, friends, and allies, and serves as a reminder of just how powerful the supporting cast of the first "Black Panther" movie was. As Wakanda faces a conflict with Namor, the Sub-Mariner (Tenoch Huerta), there are a number of worthy candidates who could become the next Black Panther.

Let's take a deeper dive into what the "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" trailer promises for the film.

While the Black Panther and the ruler of Wakanda are often the same person, that isn't always the case; T'Challa took up the Black Panther mantle while his father, T'Chaka (John Kani) was still king. The "Wakanda Forever" trailer quickly answers the question of who now sits on the throne, with Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) now leading the country. Given that Wakanda no longer has the same veil of secrecy that it once enjoyed, Ramonda is carrying a significant burden while her grief is still fresh.

Despite the moments of quiet grief in the trailer, we also get a glimpse of a Wakandan funeral ceremony that looks like a joyful celebration of T'Challa's life. The dancers are dressed in white, smiling as they dance. Many cultures around the world use dancing as an expression of mourning and there are a number of such traditional dances performed across Africa, such as the dodi or mutu dances of the Kenga people. 

Benjamin Aidoo, the leader of the Nana Otafrija pallbearers in Ghana whose "coffin dance" went viral in early 2020, has said that when his team is hired to carry a loved one to their resting place, "Most people love the display, because they want to be happy." Rather than focusing on the person's absence, the dance is a celebration of "the life that he or she spent before dying."

The Black Panther might be Wakanda's protector, but they also have protectors of their own: the Dora Milaje. This all-female group of elite warriors serve as bodyguards for the Black Panther, and are led by Okoye (Danai Gurira). Since she has devoted her life to protecting the life of Wakanda's resident superhero, Okoye was devastated when it appeared that T'Challa had died in "Black Panther," and we can expect her to be similarly deeply affected by his death in "Wakanda Forever." 

As one of Wakanda's most powerful warriors, and someone with intimate knowledge of a Black Panther's duties, Okoye is another strong candidate to take up T'Challa's former role. It was reported last year that a spinoff series about Okoye's origins was in the works for Disney+.

Comics Namor has traditionally been antagonistic towards the surface world, especially when we pollute his domain. The first "Black Panther" was one of the more overtly political Marvel movies, so this one potentially having environmental themes tracks. Between shots of a Wakandan city flooding and both Winston Duke's M'Baku and the Dora Milaje fighting Atlanteans, the nation seems to be gearing up for war with Wakanda ... or perhaps Wakanda simply gets in the way of Namor's vendetta against the rest of the surface.

One shot in particular, which shows a young Namor standing among blue-skinned Atlanteans staring at a building engulfed by flame, suggests that the war might originate with an old grudge. In the comics Namor revealed that his name translates to "avenging son," and it's possible that the event we see here is the death of one or both of his parents. That would be somewhat repetitive, though, since Killmonger was seeking revenge for the death of his father at T'Chaka's hands. Based on the scene where Wakandans are operating a ship out at sea with two people in deep sea diving suits, preparing to descend into the water, it seems more likely that the conflict begins because of the surface-dwellers encroaching on Namor's domain. 

In Marvel Comics, Riri Williams is a teenage super-genius who is discovered by Tony Stark and invited to become his protégée after she invents an armored suit of her own. In "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" Riri will be played by Dominique Thorne, and she makes a few appearances in the teaser. She's first seen enthusiastically greeting Shuri in Wakanda's tech workshop, in a scene that echoes T'Challa's visit to his little sister in the first "Black Panther" film. 

Riri is from Chicago in the comics, and we don't yet know how she ends up in Wakanda, but there is one explanation set up by the ending of "Black Panther." As a way of paying tribute to Killmonger after his death, and acknowledging Killmonger's legitimate arguments about Wakanda hoarding its knowledge from the rest of the world, T'Challa established up the first Wakandan outreach center in Oakland, California, in the building where Killmonger grew up. Riri may have been talent-scouted by one such outreach center and invited to Wakanda as a student, with Shuri serving as her mentor rather than Tony Stark.

Winston Duke's charismatic performance as M'Baku was one of the highlights of "Black Panther," and he reportedly has an expanded role in "Wakanda Forever." M'Baku is leader of Wakanda's Jabari Tribe, which splintered off from the rest of society and embraced the gorilla god Hanuman instead of the panther god Bast (who serves as the spiritual guide for the Black Panther and most of Wakanda's people). 

At the start of "Black Panther," M'Baku challenged T'Challa for the throne, decrying the young king's ideas about embracing the outside world, and lost. But after Killmonger defeated T'Challa and became Wakanda's new king, M'Baku and the Jabari agreed to a temporary alliance in order to restore T'Challa as king, and they later fought against Thanos' forces in both "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame."

The trailer for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" shows aircraft approaching the Jabari home base in the snowy mountains, and M'Baku is then shown staring up at something with a rare look of trepidation on his face. The Dora Milaje are also present (with fur added to their traditional uniforms to combat the cold), so it's likely that they've come to ask for M'Baku's help in fighting the Atlanteans.

We get our best look at Namora as she leads several Atlantean warriors in battle on a bridge, looking ready for battle. At a guess, this clash may take place during Queen Ramonda's visit to speak with the United Nations, with the Atlanteans using the opportunity of Wakandans being far away from their well-defended home country to launch an ambush. Namora's headdress marks her as royalty, and we also get a good look at the breathing apparatus used by the Atlanteans on land.

Another new face in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is Aneka (Michaela Coel), combat instructor of the Dora Milaje. She is seen fighting alongside established members of the warrior woman brigade, as well as M'Baku's fighters. 

Aneka is another potential candidate to become the new Black Panther: so much of the fan discussion leading up to the movie has debated whether Shuri, Okoye, or Nakia would be the best fit, but quietly introducing a new character and having them become the new franchise lead would be a less predictable move. Coel certainly has the acting chops to lead a franchise, having created and starred in two shows that both garnered widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards: "Chewing Gum" and "I May Destroy You."