If there’s one thing Marvel is all about its marketing. Toys, Halloween costumes, backpacks, school supplies, you name it, if a kid is using it the MCU will slap a branded character on it. So it shouldn’t be a big surprise that the most looked-for franchise installment in years is going to lend its brand to the most desired kids’ menu on the planet, right? But something about McDonald’s new Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Happy Meal is dividing the fans into separate “loving it” and “not loving it” camps.
Is it the smile? Is the design, inspired by the Panther’s costume? Or does it just feel a little disrespectful? Those lucky enough to have seen the film are describing it as an emotional rollercoaster and in many cases a catharsis for fans of the late Chadwick Boseman, who played the title character in the first film before his untimely and tragic death from cancer in 2020. Does the new meal feel like it’s taking advantage of those feelings?
Of course, the internet is still the internet and it seems that for every “DO NOT WANT” take there is an equal reaction of “NEED THIS IN MY LIFE”. Some fans are definitely feeling the Happy Meals vibe (and no doubt wondering what kind of sure-to-be valuably someday toy hides inside the box).
Of course whatever the back and forth on Twitter is, the all-important voices that will decide the matter haven’t been heard from — the hordes of potential pre-teen Marvel fans that will be accompanying their parents to the movie theater later this month and then no doubt bagging them to swing by Mickey D’s for a happy meal on the way home.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in theaters on Nov. 11.
