Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently being filmed in Georgia — as are most Marvel films — and is scheduled to be released as part of Marvel’s Phase 4 slate in November. Marvel had originally planned for the highly-anticipated Black Panther sequel to be released in July, but it was pushed back in October, along with a number of other Marvel films, including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Unfortunately, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now experiencing another setback as production has been put on hold indefinitely as star Letitia Wright — who plays Shuri — recovers from an injury she sustained in August. While Marvel originally stated that Wright’s injury would not affect the production schedule — they would shoot the scenes that she was not a part of — it looks like that has now changed. Marvel has apparently shot all the scenes that they can without the starlet, and they must now go back to the drawing board to figure out how to continue.
The Hollywood Reporter received a statement from Wright’s representative and reported the following:
Wakanda Forever had been filming mostly in Atlanta for the last two months. Director Ryan Coogler is said to have shot all footage that his crew is able to without Wright.
Sources say the production is taking the hiatus to reconfigure the shoot to get things back on track for an early 2022 restart. The shutdown is expected to begin the week of Thanksgiving.
“Letitia has been recovering in London since September from injuries sustained on the set of Black Panther 2 and is looking forward to returning to work early 2022,” a representative for Wright said in a statement to THR. “Letitia kindly asks that you keep her in your prayers.”
After sustaining the injury while filming in Boston, Wright traveled to London, where she has been healing ever since. Wright was promoted to the lead role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever after Chadwick Boseman — who played the titular superhero — died of cancer in 2020, so it is safe to assume that there are not too many scenes that she will not be a part of.
Marvel has said that, at this time, they do not anticipate the release date of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to be impacted by the pause in production.
