The Black PanTher’s legacy

Movie Review

Written by Aidan Shen, Junior Contributor

Actress Letitia Wright has big shoes to fill. After the premier of Marvel’s “black Panther: Wakanda Forever” on Nov. 11, 2022, fans have eagerly scrutinized her performance in hopes that she upholds the legacy of her co-star and friend, Chadwick boseman. I had the privilege of viewing the movie in the theater and I would say that the movie has an ideal balance between honoring the late chief of Wakanda, Chadwick boseman and introducing Letitia Wright to the spotlight as Wakanda’s new protector.

Chadwick boseman played the role of superhero black Panther in the first “black Panther” movie. With a captivating performance and a commanding voice as the leader of Wakanda, boseman’s big screen persona as the black Panther quickly became many people’s favorite character to root for during the course of his first appearance in “Captain America: Civil War,” to his last in “Avengers: Endgame.”

Having been diagnosed in 2016, boseman battled against colon cancer for a significant portion of his Marvel career. The illness progressed until it became stage four colon cancer as he was filming the final movie in the third phase of the MCu. The announcement of his sickness came as a shock to all Marvel fans, who had been unknowingly watching boseman fight a silent, years-long battle alone. Tragically, it was a war that he couldn’t win, with boseman’s passing on Aug. 28 of 2020, not long after the premier of his last movie, “Avengers: Endgame.”

The latest movie in the Marvel timeline, “black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” is a beautiful tribute to boseman’s legacy. Since the first “black Panther” movie, the franchise has featured rich culture which is infused into the movies with many architectural and artistic ideas coming primarily from the African country Lesotho, along with surrounding countries such as uganda, Rwanda, burundi, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As shown in the trailer, Shuri, playing T’Challa’s sister, supposedly takes on the mantle of black Panther. The film utilizes the storyline to allude to event’s during Chadwick boseman’s battle against cancer. In addition to the massive amounts of support for boseman, Wright brought a piece of him to the premier of “black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, fashioning an outfit almost identical to the one worn by boseman at the 2018 Academy Awards. Letitia Wright and the rest of the cast mourn the death of their friend, but honor him perfectly with the continuation of what he started.