Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is finally commencing production after many setbacks, including a serious on-set injury and COVID-19 infections, with star Letitia Wright healed and back in Atlanta, ready to reprise her role as fan favorite character Shuri.
Production was supposed to resume last Monday, but it was postponed due to numerous cast and staff members, including Lupita Nyong'o, testing positive for COVID-19. Shooting on the Ryan Coogler-directed film is set to continue in Atlanta next week for a period of around four weeks, according to sources.
Wright was injured while filming a stunt rig sequence on location in Boston in August of last year. The Wakanda Forever team filmed as much as they could without Wright before shutting down production in late November, allowing her to recover at her London home.
Wright, a British citizen, was being watched because she had stated anti-COVID vaccination opinions. Before boarding a plane, the CDC enacted rules requiring all non-immigrant, non-citizen air travelers to be completely vaccinated and produce documentation of vaccination status. While she has not been vaccinated, some sources claim that those difficulties have been remedied.
"She always intended to return but just needed to wait until she had fully recovered," Wright's agent told The Hollywood Reporter.
Separately, sources claim that Winston Duke, who plays M'Baku in Black Panther, secured a sizable rise for his return owing to what is being billed as an expanded position in the Panther mythos. It's unclear how that expansion will appear.
Marvel had nothing to say about it.
Insiders claim the reshoot will have no effect on the film's release schedule, which is presently set for November 11, 2022. It had already been rescheduled for July 8, 2022.
So far, Wakanda Forever has walked a rough journey. Chadwick Boseman, the star of Black Panther, died of colon cancer in August 2020, forcing Marvel and the producers to reimagine the project without him. Wright, who rose to prominence in 2018 as Shuri, Black Panther T'Challa's sister, has been promoted to the starring role in the sequel. It's uncertain if the sequel's increased status will carry over into future films or Disney+ shows.
Wakanda Forever is one of three Marvel films set to be released this year, including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 6) and Thor: Love and Thunder (June) (July 8). The worldwide box office for Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was distributed by Sony last month, has surpassed $1.54 billion. Coogler and Marvel are also working on a Disney+ spinoff centered in the fictitious African nation of Wakanda, starring Danai Gurira.
Reporting was contributed by Kim Masters, Alex Ritman, and Scott Feinberg.
