After Marvel Studios' Comic-Con panel wrapped up with the emotional trailer forBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, MCU fans have taken to analyzing every frame in it, including a full translation of a touching message for Chadwick Boseman in what is likely the first of many tributes included in the film for the late actor.
Boseman’s tragic passing in 2020 threw the MCU into disarray, and since then it’s been a mystery where theBlack Pantherfranchise would be headed without its protagonist. While theBlack Panther 2preview might begin to answer that, it also makes clear that Wakanda remembers King T’Challa. TheBlack Panther: Wakanda Forevertraileropens with what appears to be images of a funeral or memorial for T’Challa, as the people closest to him mourn his death, with Boseman’s face featured later in one shot of some Wakandan street art.
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As reported byScreen Rant, the artwork actually features some words in Wakandan using the alphabet that was made exclusively forBlack Pantherby production designer Hanna Bleacher, although based on the very real Nsidibi writing system hailing from Nigeria. Even if the full text can’t be seen in the available footage, what’s there is enough to reveal its sentiment. “The king lives and the panther… forever in us…,” reads the direct translation, a phrase that falls perfectly in line with the rest of the trailer.
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveris a film clearly defined by the real-life cancer battle that Boseman fought secretly for years. Still, the trailer also had some room toshowcase Namor as its new antagonist. At the same time, towards the end, it teases who might pick up the mantle as a female-looking silhouette heavily suggest his sister Shuri could become the next Black Panther, just like in the comics.
Another possible candidate is T’Challa’s lover, Nakia, however, that decision would lack any sort of comic book reference, unlike Shuri, who temporarily took over her brother when he was unavailable. Some fans have also called for the Black Panther role to be recast entirely, a premise that is surely not entirely out of the question, even if it’s not withMichael B. Jordan’s Killmonger.
It’s possible the empty Wakandan throne is one of the plot lines explored inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever. nevertheless, with the movie now being promoted as the MCU’s final Phase Four entry andrumors of aBlack Panthervideo game, its importance cannot be underestimated.
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveris scheduled to release in theaters on July 25, 2025.
