Black Panther 2 Is Equal To The Greatest Film Of All Time?
In a new interview, a Marvel Studios VP compares Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to the classic mob epic The Godfather.
As if the anticipation surrounding the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever isn’t high enough, the film is now garnering comparisons to The Godfather, one of the greatest films ever made. In a new interview with Total Film Magazine (via The Direct), Marvel Studios Vice President of Production & Development Nate Moore said the plot of Black Panther 2 parallels that of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 Best Picture winner about the trials of life in a mafia family. It may be mere hyperbole, but it is also an enticing look into how Marvel Studios plans to handle the Black Panther franchise following the untimely death of star Chadwick Boseman due to colon cancer in August of 2020.
In the interview, Moore himself admits such comparisons may seem over the top, saying it “sounds crazy,” but he points out that both films feature a conflict based between two families, giving Black Panther 2 a “little bit of a mob movie” feel. “There’s a little bit of…The Godfather. There’s that feeling of families of war. Because this movie is very much about Wakanda finding an equal to itself, and Namor’s world of Talocan.”
Although we don’t know much about the plot of Black Panther 2, the latest trailer does play up the parallels between Wakanda and Talocan, with shots of Tenoch Huerta’s Namor mixed with images of T’Challa’s funeral. It’s not clear what triggers the fight between the two kingdoms, but Moore states that Wakanda’s attempts to be more open to the world end up “impacting Namor’s world in a way that’s unexpected,” leading Talocan to approach Wakanda with a sort-of “offer they can’t refuse.”
“Namor kind of comes to Wakanda with a proposal that’s not unlike, you know, one of the five families coming with a proposal,” Moore said. “And Wakanda is having to figure out how to negotiate with this world power that isn’t afraid of it, frankly.” As the Black Panther 2 trailer shows, the proposal doesn’t appear to go over very well, and we see the surface kingdom go to battle with the underwater kingdom.
While Black Panther (the first comic book movie to be Oscar-nominated for Best Picture) took a very Shakespearean approach to the inner conflicts that arose in the quest for power, Moore seems to be right that Black Panther 2 will be more Godfather-like in its approach, with Wakanda’s numerous factions uniting as a family to battle an outside threat. Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje put their differences aside to face Namor and his army, in a “never go against the family” move.
Black Panther 2 also stars Lupita Nyong’o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as Nakia, Martin Freeman (The Hobbit) as Everett K. Ross, Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) as Aneka, Mabel Cadena as Namora, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, and Richard Schiff in an unspecified role. Dominique Thorne also appears in the trailer as Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, a new hero using Tony Stark’s Iron Man tech, who appears to come to Wakanda’s aid (although some speculate she may be one of the reasons Wakanda and Talocan go to war).
Black Panther 2 opens in theaters on November 11, 2022. It was recently reported that the film has a runtime of two hours and 41 minutes, making it the second longest Marvel film ever, behind Avengers: Endgame, so wear comfortable clothes to the theater.
