Black Panther 2 Star Addresses MCU Future After Surprising Death

Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Following her surprising death in the sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Angela Bassett has addressed her Marvel Cinematic Universe future. Bassett returned for the long-awaited follow-up as Queen Ramonda, now leading Wakanda following the sudden death of her son, King T'Challa, and struggling to allow the nation to be more open with the world following T'Challa's promise of sharing resources with others. After initially incurring the wrath of Namor and the underwater kingdom of Talokan, Wakanda is attacked and Ramonda is killed while trying to protect the young Riri Williams, devastating Shuri and putting her on a path of revenge heading into the film's final act.

In honor of the film's release, IndieWire caught up with Angela Bassett to break down Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. When asked about her death in the film and what it means for her MCU future, the Ramonda actor revealed she was initially opposed to being killed, but that co-writer/director Ryan Coogler helped her see the upside of her loss. See what Bassett shared below:

I objected. Yeah, I was like, "Ryan, what are you doing? Why? You will rue the day! You will rue the demise of [Ramonda]. People are gonna be so upset." He was like, "Angela, I know, I know, but look, to die is not really to die in this world. It doesn’t really have to mean that."

How Ramonda Could Return To The MCU After Black Panther 2

An image of Angela Bassett looking serious in Wakanda Forever

With the film already acting as a cathartic release for the real-life death of T'Challa actor Chadwick Boseman, Ramonda's death in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever proved to be a devastating surprise for many audiences. As her character was shifted to the forefront of leadership, Bassett received widespread acclaim for helping further expand Ramonda into a powerhouse figure, dominating her scene of meeting with the United Nations to highlight the danger of sharing vibranium, and her powerful monologue to Danai Gurira's Okoye about having lost all of her family and being unwilling to forgive her for letting Shuri go with Talokan. However, with Coogler and his creative team needing to establish some stakes for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever outside of T'Challa's death, Ramonda's death near the halfway point of the film ultimately reminded audiences that no one was entirely safe in the war between Wakanda and Talokan.

As Coogler noted to Bassett, however, death in the world of Wakanda doesn't inherently mean the end for any character within the MCU. The original Black Panther brought back John Kani as T'Chaka, despite his death in Captain America: Civil War, as he visits Boseman's T'Challa in the Ancestral Plane when he ingested the heart-shaped herb giving him his superhuman strength. Audiences were initially dealt a surprise when Shuri went into the Ancestral Plane near the final act of the MCU sequel as she was visited by Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger, a reprisal many had been hopeful to see, in favor of Bassett's Ramonda, nearly putting her on a similar destructive path as her cousin going into the final fight against Tenoch Huerta's Namor.

However, as seen during said fight, Bassett's Ramonda did finally return to visit Shuri and help talk her down from killing the Talokan leader, properly establishing a future for her in the MCU following her surprising death in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Given the sequel ended with Winston Duke's M'Baku challenging for the throne, it will be interesting to see if a potential Black Panther 3 sees him also ingest the heart-shaped herb and become a secondary Black Panther visited by Ramonda in the Ancestral Plane, or if Shuri will find another way to commune with her late mother. Until said threequel is announced, audiences can revisit the emotional story of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in theaters now.

Next: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Sets Up Shock MCU Phase 5 MovieSource: IndieWire