Many things set Black Panther: Wakanda Forever apart from other MCU movies, including how it broke one of the franchise's oldest traditions to prioritize its own story first. Every MCU film, Avengers: Endgame aside, included post-credit scenes to get audiences excited about upcoming projects. However, not only did Wakanda Forever decide on only one post-credits scene rather than two, the one there is didn't set up any future films in the MCU.

Audiences were speculating on what the post-credits scenes for Wakanda Forever could be. The most popular theory was it would be a Doctor Doom Easter egg, potentially setting up a new big villain for the Multiverse Saga, similar to Thanos. Instead, the only mid-credits scene picked up where the film left off, with Shuri paying her respects to her late brother T’Challa by burning her funeral clothes. She was approached by Nakia who introduced Shuri, and the audience, to the son she had with T’Challa. The young boy revealed that his name was Toussaint, but his Wakandan name was Prince T’Challa, after his father.

Related: Wakanda Forever's Prince Toussaint Fully Explained

Black Panther 2 Didn't Need To Tease The MCU's Future Installments

Shuri and Nakia in Black Panther and Wakanda Forever.

Wakanda Forever was a beautiful tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman and served as a perfect transition to induct new characters into the roles that T’Challa had, with M'Baku becoming the King of Wakanda, and Shuri assuming the role of the Black Panther. It concluded T'Challa's story while providing new arcs for the other Wakandan characters. It also produced a meditation on grief and moving on.

Black Panther 2’s editor Mike Sawyer explained that they wanted the movie to remain self-contained and that it was more important for the audience to leave feeling a connection to Chadwick rather than buzzing about what the next installment will be. "We always say we've got to play the game the right way. We've got to do right by Chad and do right by Shuri's story," Sawyer said. If the post-credits scenes were used to prop up a future film or television show, it would seem out of place and forced.

Toussaint Is The Perfect Black Panther 2 Reveal

Nakia and Prince T'Challa in Black Panther Wakanda Forever

The reveal that T’Challa had a son before he died was the perfect way to carry on his legacy. Some audiences were upset that T’Challa’s character was being killed off in the films after Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing, preferring a recast instead. Wakanda Forever's post-credits reveal of Toussaint, however, was a perfect way to honor Chadwick and still have a T’Challa in the MCU. Toussaint’s introduction was also not a quick nod to the next installment in the MCU, as it will be years before he can take on the mantle. Instead, he was a respectful symbol of how T’Challa and Chadwick inspired the next generation, both in-universe and among audiences.

While there are small hints of what could happen in either a potential Black Panther 3 or in another Marvel project like Thunderbolts, the filmmakers' decision to have Wakanda Forever be a self-contained story was the most respectful way to honor Chadwick Boseman and his legacy as the Black Panther. Shuri’s journey was completed without being overshadowed and T’Challa’s son will carry on his father’s legacy into a new era. With audiences wanting a more emotional and genuine tone from the MCU, future films should see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as an example that completing a self-contained story was more powerful than teasing what is still to come.

More: Who Plays Toussaint In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

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