Why Black Panther 2 Should Explore More Of Wakanda’s Biggest Threat (Itself)
While many fans want to see Black Panther 2 introduce a new MCU antagonist, it should also continue to explore Wakanda’s own internal conflicts.
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Since the release of the first film, MCU fans have speculated over what new villain might appear in Black Panther 2, but the sequel shouldn’t lose sight of the internal conflicts that made Wakanda so compelling. The first Black Panther was a smashing success for Marvel, blasting through $1 billion at the box office to become the highest-grossing film ever made by a Black director. The movie’s celebration of African culture through its music and production design was a high point of praise for many, as well as the complex motivations driving villain Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and his tragic conflict with King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman).
While Ryan Coogler and the majority of the cast from the first film are slated to return, the untimely and unfathomably tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman earlier this year means that his aspirations for the character’s future will, unfortunately, remain unseen. Kevin Feige confirmed recently that T’Challa will not be recast in the MCU, meaning that the story of Black Panther 2 will more than likely be passing the mantle of the Black Panther onto someone else. Regardless of how Marvel Studios chooses to move forward with the franchise, the best that can be hoped for is that Ryan Coogler directs a project that is reverential of Boseman’s memory.
One thing on the minds of many fans is whether or not the sequel will do the heavy lifting of introducing a new major villain like Namor the Sub-Mariner or Doctor Doom. While both of these characters have perfectly good reason to appear in Black Panther 2, the movie also needs to continue to dive into Wakanda’s complex and sometimes flawed history as part of its narrative.
The first Black Panther had a two-fold conflict at the heart of its story, which is part of the reason why the movie was so engaging. On one hand, Killmonger’s obsessive need to liberate the world’s oppressed through imperialist violence was a stark contrast to T’Challa and his misguided desire to keep Wakanda an isolationist nation. But on the other hand, Killmonger’s path to villainy was directly created as a result of King T’Chaka’s original sin: by killing his own brother and leaving his nephew in America, he was dooming the child to the exact lifestyle that turned him into a killer. Not only did T’Challa have to overcome Killmonger as a present and physical threat, but he also had to reject his father’s style of governance and forge his own path as a ruler and a king.
This is something that T’Challa in the comics has had to deal with multiple times. With Wakanda being such a diverse nation with such a rich history, he’s had to deal with targeted insurrections and domestic terror in the past, as well as the repercussions of some of Wakanda’s own historical mistakes. One of Black Panther’s most recent comic book arcs, The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, forces T’Challa to deal with the consequences of a legion of space-faring Wakandans who have colonized several planets by force in the name of their home.
Even if T’Challa himself won’t be the one dealing with these kinds of threats, there’s still a royal family and an inner circle who are important to helping govern Wakanda and keep its people safe. Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), Shuri (Letitia Wright), and Okoye (Danai Gurira) were all witnesses to how Killmonger nearly destroyed Wakanda from the inside, and each of them saw how Wakanda’s own people were willing to allow it to happen. Even though it’s a technologically advanced and generally socially progressive kingdom, the MCU’s Wakanda still suffers from issues created by its own complex history, and Black Panther 2 would be smart to force our heroes to reckon with that often tumultuous history once again.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/mcu-black-panther-2-wakana-internal-war/