‘Wakanda Forever’ Shuts Down Production Until Next Year As Star Letitia Wright Recovers from On-Set Injury
Wakanda may be forever, but forever has been delayed by a few months.
The production of Wakanda Forever, Marvel’s planned sequel to Black Panther, will shut down around Thanksgiving and not resume until some time in early 2022, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The movie’s producers originally said that her injury would not delay production, but director Ryan Coogler is said to have shot all the scenes he is able to without Wright.
Star Letitia Wright is still recovering from injuries she sustained over two months ago while performing on a stunt rig while the movie was shooting in Boston. Wright plays Shuri, the sister of King T’Challa, who provides her brother and his allies with state-of-the-art Wakandan technology. The character is expected to take on the mantle of Black Panther.
Wright has returned to her home in London where she has remained, recovering from her injuries.
Along with Wright, stars Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba and Angela Bassett are resuming their roles in the sequel.
T’Challa was played by the late Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther. Boseman died of colon cancer in 2020, and Marvel opted against recasting the role, instead promoting Wright as the star of the sequel.
Following the news, Marvel insisted the film’s release date shouldn’t be impacted enough to warrant another delay. Teh studio has already pushed back the release of Wakanda Forever, moving it from July 8th, 2022, to its current release date of November 11th, 2022.