Given that there’s been constant controversy swirling around Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Letitia Wright for months, it was only natural that the internet would whip itself up into a frenzy of conspiracy theories regarding her absence from the set of the Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel.
It was first revealed that she’d been injured during production at the beginning of the month, but Twitter being what it is, many members of the online community theorized that she may have contracted COVID-19 in what many of them deemed to be a delicious slice of karmic justice.
We can assume that most definitely isn’t the case, after Deadline revealed that the official hiatus began today, with a note coming directly from Kevin Feige naming a fractured shoulder and a concussion as the culprits. Director Ryan Coogler had been shooting around Wright ever since she was ruled out of action, but it was eventually decided to shut up shop entirely until January of next year.
As things stand, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is still scheduled to hit theaters in November 2022, but looking at how regularly the Phase Four calendar has been shuffled over the last year, it’s far from a guarantee that’s when we’ll be seeing it.