After an abnormally long gap between its theatrical and streaming releases (which may or may not be cause to worry), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finally arrived on Disney Plus this week. Interestingly, just as we’ve seen before with other Marvel movies — most notably, Thor: Love and Thunder — this has led to an increased backlash against Ryan Coogler’s previously acclaimed sequel. Although that doesn’t mean there aren’t others out there fighting for its honor…
Even as critics try to smear its name, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s most criticized character finds some love
As much as some fans might be trying to push the Wakanda Forever hate train out of the station, the film’s loyal champions out there are doing their best to derail any attempts to stain the sequel’s name. For starters, the one character in the movie who received the most criticism, as many felt they were shoehorned into the plot and didn’t really belong in the story, is finding some support at last, as folks argue they are far from the worst example of Marvel putting the franchise ahead of an individual film. Although, given how fickle MCU fans tend to be, we’ll have to see if this burst of positivity lasts.
Wakanda Forever‘s Disney Plus release reveals the MCU’s most toxic ship still has yet to sink
On the other hand, there are other elements of Wakanda Forever we wish certain fans were less passionate about. Shippers are gonna ship, but maybe folks shouldn’t be so determined for this duo from the movie to become a couple as much as they are. Yes, its Disney Plus release is only reawakening calls for the grossest ship in MCU history to become official — that between Shuri and Namor… You know, her deadly enemy who killed her mom. Who knows, Disney has made stranger couples canon (Reylo, anyone?), but we’d still be surprised if “Shamor” ever actually became a thing in the MCU’s future.
Dominique Thorne seems to be preparing us for some Black Panther crossovers in her incoming Ironheart series
Last but not least, it’s currently unclear exactly when we’ll see the next chapter in the Black Panther saga, but we know that one character from the movie will return very soon — namely, Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams in her very own TV series, Ironheart, that’s due to hit streaming sometime this year. In exciting news, the actress seems to be teasing that she won’t be the only familiar face from Wakanda Forever set to turn up in the show, which should go some way to appeasing those waiting on an official confirmation for Danai Gurira’s Okoye spinoff. Although we still need an update on that yesterday, Kevin Feige.
As sure as Scott Lang’s days are numbered as we head towards Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, there will be another batch of the latest Marvel news coming your way tomorrow.