The much-anticipated Black Panther sequel is a few days away from hitting theaters, so it might be helpful to review what fans need to watch before seeing Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
There is a lot of excitement around the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe installment. The movie will introduce a new generation of heroes and will unveil the identity of the one who will take up T’Challa’s Black Panther mantle following the death of series star Chadwick Boseman. Additionally, Ryan Coogler’s movie will feature the MCU debut of Riri Williams, a.k.a. Ironheart.
Here’s a list of what to watch to prepare for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Captain America: Civil War
T’Challa’s first MCU appearance dates back to 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. The Russo Brothers’ film featured the origin story of Black Panther, who became king of Wakanda after the sudden death of his father, T’Chaka, at the hands of Baron Zemo. The villain deceives everyone by framing Bucky Barnes for the attack. Black Panther naturally sided with Iron Man in his epic clash with Captain America as the Wakandan superhero was looking for revenge against the Winter Soldier, who just so happens to be Steve Rogers’ best friend. Ultimately, the truth came out, and T’Challa granted asylum to his new friend Bucky in Wakanda.
Black Panther
Director Ryan Coogler’s first MCU foray is still one of the most widely impactful superhero movies ever made. In a suggestive afrofuturistic scenario, the story depicted the internal war for power between the titular hero and Killmonger, portrayed by a magnificent Michael B. Jordan. As Killmonger looks to avenge the death of his father, Wakandan Prince N’Jobu, T’Challa learns about what it takes to be a king. Black Panther was a critical and commercial success and became one of the highest-grossing MCU movies, taking home more than $1.3 billion at the box office. The movie also made history by becoming the first superhero film to receive a Best Picture nomination from the Academy. The ensemble cast featured Boseman, Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis, among others. Most of the Black Panther cast will return in the upcoming sequel.
Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame
Considering the character’s popularity, everyone expected the king of Wakanda to play a pivotal role in the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, and so it was. The colossal war involving the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Thanos’ gang goes down in Wakanda, where Black Panther and his kingdom fight to save the world from the Mad Titan. Unfortunately, the story ended with Thanos’ snap wiping T’Challa and his sister, Shuri, out of existence.
Who could resist cheering for the king of Wakanda when T’Challa made his on-screen return in Avengers: Endgame to take his sweet revenge against Thanos? After half of the universe disappeared following Thanos’ snap, the Avengers decide to do whatever it takes to go back in time and undo the effects of the Blip. The 2019 blockbuster broke all sorts of box-office records and stands as one of the highest-grossing films of all time at more than $2.7 billion in earnings. Once again, Black Panther took part in one of the biggest MCU successes.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
Black Panther’s story would be pretty straightforward, even if someone watches just the MCU movies. However, some of the Wakandan stories have also been expanded upon in the TV shows. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier brought back Ayo and a squad of Dora Milaje, a.k.a. Wakanda’s exclusively women special forces, to bring Baron Zemo to justice for what he did to king T’Chaka in Captain America: Civil War. The story stresses the bond between Bucky and Wakanda again, even though the Winter Soldier had a pivotal role in helping Zemo escape prison.
RELATED: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Featurette Spotlights Namor & His Kingdom
What If…?
For completion’s sake, fans should include Marvel’s animated series in the list of what to watch before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. A few installments in What If…? featured stories going down in Wakanda or involving Wakandan characters. Episode two, in particular, sees T’Challa becoming Star-Lord and joining the Ravagers. In Episodes 6 and 9, Killmonger became Black Panther and joined the Watcher and the Guardians of the Multiverse. The series also involved Boseman, who voiced T’Challa for the last time before dying of colon cancer. The actor’s efforts were posthumously rewarded with a well-deserved Emmy.
