Following last night’s world premiere, the hype for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has reached new heights, and it’s only two weeks until the hotly-anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe comes to theaters.
While it may not be able to match its illustrious predecessor in terms of critical acclaim, commercial success, and awards season recognition, the first wave of reactions to make their way online following the first screening have nonetheless hyped up a worthy successor to Ryan Coogler’s jaw-dropping original.
The marketing campaign is in full swing, too, with a brand new and action-packed teaser highlighting the variety of set pieces on display. In less than a minute we’re treated to spears, guns, bullets, whales, a flying Namor, and the latest incumbent of the titular mantle putting their newfound superhero skills to the test.
Remarkably, spoilers have remained fairly well hidden unless you know exactly where to look, but we’d be a lot more surprised at this stage if it wasn’t Letitia Wright’s Shuri under the iconic suit. Wakanda Forever needs to tell its own story, push the MCU forward, and pay tribute to the legacy left behind by Chadwick Boseman all in one fell swoop, but we’re feeling very confident that director Ryan Cooger, his cast and crew, and the MCU machine will manage to pull it off.
At a reputed running time of upwards of 160 minutes, there’s going to be an awful lot of Black Panther bang for our buck, and in this instance fans are more than happy for a big budget blockbuster to justify such an exorbitant length.
