‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ costume designer was asked to draw inspiration from Batman

The MCU doesn’t just give fans action and suspense. It brings visual stimulation that includes settings, neat gadgets, and awesome suits. Where the latter comes from is up to specialists like Autumn Arkapaw who worked hard to accomplish Ryan Coogler’s DCU-inspired vision in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler, who assisted in the making of the first Black Panther film, were brought back to assist in the new vision, which included a good bit of underwater imagery. To pull that off, Coogler had many ideas, starting with his admiration for Batman movies, especially the Gotham savior’s constantly upgraded suits, which aided in taking Wakanda Forever in a new and inspiring direction.

In a recent interview with Variety, Arkapaw recalled, “We continue to push the artistic elements. We were exploring the deep ocean and looked at different inspirations in Mayan culture, as well as the Aztecs. We were [also] upgrading and reinventing Wakanda. I remember Ryan saying every time he sees a new Batman movie, the suit is different. He felt that we could upgrade some of the things in Wakanda. So the Dora Milaje warriors got new armor and Nakia [Lupita Nyong’o] got a new suit.”

There’s a lot of thought that goes into exploring different eras and learning the cultures, then turning that knowledge into something MCU-worthy. It has to be awesome or well, it has to be awesome, there is no other option.

When it comes to an underwater civilization like Talokan, the costumes don’t only have to be awesome but they have to function as well. “For the water scenes, we had a 20-foot tank in which we did tests. Divers went down in the water and I had to put them in costumes that included headdresses and capes, just to see what those costumes would do in water, and I ended up putting weights in,” Carter shared.

Needless to say, Coogler’s vision combined with the creative prowess of the costume designer working tirelessly to make the film as flawless as possible shows in the sequel, whether it is the Dora Milaje warriors’ new armor or the striking ensembles of the Talokan natives.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in theaters.