10 Upcoming Movies That Are In Big Trouble

Marvel Studios is certainly in an unenviable position where Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is concerned.

As if sky-high expectations weren't enough after the first film became a veritable pop-culture phenomenon, lead actor Chadwick Boseman's untimely death in 2020 threw Marvel's sequel plans into a total tailspin.

Wakanda Forever will have to perform the difficult task of giving audiences an affecting farewell to T'Challa, who will not be recast in the film, while also passing the Black Panther mantle to another cast member, most likely T'Challa's sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) or M'Baku (Winston Duke).

Yet Wright's positioning as the most natural successor has its own share of issues, given the actress' anti-vaccine sentiments on social media and reports that she continued to circulate these opinions on the film's set.

This led many to consider the mess Marvel faces if Shuri does indeed end up becoming the new Black Panther, that the part will be played by a problematic actor who many would rather see gone from the franchise or at least reduced to a minor part.

Granted, casual viewers likely aren't at all aware of Wright's views and it's entirely possible the film sensibly cedes the Black Panther title to M'Baku or perhaps even Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) instead, which would certainly avoid a bigger headache moving forward.

But again, the operating issue for mainstream audiences is finding a way to satisfyingly retire T'Challa from the MCU without Boseman himself having filmed any scenes.

Given the movie's surprisingly speedy production in the wake of the actor's death, one can only hope they've found an inspired and affecting way to close his arc out.

Yet with reports of at least five versions of the script being written and rewrites continuing throughout production, it's reasonable to be concerned.