This past October, I was fortunate enough to attend the official Black Panther Wakanda Forever premiere in Hollywood. When the invite came into my email, I have to admit that I was really excited and curious at the same time. I was excited to attend a star-studded event for a franchise I absolutely adored. I was curious as to why I was invited at all. For those who don’t know, after the passing of Chadwick Boseman in August 2020, Marvel announced that they would not be recasting the role of T’Challa. As a fan of Boseman, I was already grieving his loss. However, Marvel’s announcement of not recasting felt like another gut punch because T’Challa is arguably my favorite superhero. The finality in Marvel’s statement prompted me to launch the viral #RecastTChalla campaign and petition.
Launching a campaign against a major movie studio, after the passing of a beloved actor, was not an easy endeavor. There were a lot of emotions involved on both sides. While I was critical of the announcement to not recast the role of T’Challa, I always emphasized that my message was coming from a place of love and respect for Chadwick, T’Challa, the cast, and the crew. Apparently, that message was received and understood by Marvel Studios. That is the best reason I could come up with as to why they’d invite me to the premiere.
Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to pass up this major opportunity. To this day I’m very grateful and appreciative to Marvel Studios for allowing me the chance to attend the premiere and attend the film. In the video below, I managed to capture my thoughts before attending the premiere, during, and after. I was fortunate enough to interview Chadwick’s older brother Derrick Boseman. I asked him to tell me in one word how he was feeling before watching Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. I also bumped into a few other celebs but the most important thing about that night was watching the actual movie. As you’ll see from the video, my first reaction was really mixed. I didn’t know what to think or how to feel, and I’m sure you can tell all that from my face.
I was able to give the movie a second viewing, which was a great way for me to collect my thoughts. The first viewing was more so for the emotional experience that I knew was coming one way or another. The second viewing allowed me to analyze the film as a critic and really break it down. Check out my reaction and stay tuned for both my spoiler-free review and upcoming interviews with the producer of Black Panther Wakanda Forever, Nate Moore.
Black Panther Wakanda Forever World Premiere and Reactions:
Be sure to follow E-Man’s Movie Reviews on Facebook, Subscribe on YouTube, or follow me on Twitter/IG @EmansReviews for even more movie news and reviews!
