Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever recently crossed the $600M mark at the worldwide box office, no wonder many fans loved the second film as much as the original movie. With a fresh story rich in emotion, action, and creativity, many would have wondered how the team conceived the plot for the sequel.
Sure, the script for Wakanda Forever went under meticulous scrutiny and several revisions, adding and omitting scenes and lines to come up with the best narrative. In fact, there is one particular subplot removed during the film’s production.
Black Panther 2’s Original Script Gave The US Government A Prominent Role
With several plots to deal with – the death of King T’Challa, the introduction of Namor and Riri Williams, and the Talokan – there is so much to tackle that Marvel had to cut the story involving the United States.
Indeed, the US government had a specific role in intervening between the Wakanda and Talokan conflict. In an interview with Variety, the cast and crew of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever revealed some information about the production.
Letitia Wright, who played Shuri, said the script was about 300 pages long.
“I remember just hearing through the grapevine that even though Chadwick was really unwell, he was making fun of how long it was because the script was about 300 pages. That’s Ryan’s process; he puts everything on the page, he sends it off to Chad, and they sit and discuss.”
The final version of the second film had Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross and Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val work on the United States plot scene. Given the movie was two and a half hours long, it originally had a really meaty script.
Was The Movie Better Off Without The US Plot?
The issue between Wakanda and Talokan is the central plot of the movie, and such a massive storyline required a mediator. It’s understandable why they originally wanted the United States government to intervene because of the presence of Riri Williams, an American scientist who designed the vibranium detector machine.
Had the team kept this narrative, it would have produced a different plot and driven in a different direction. Perhaps, Ryan Coogler and the rest of the crew wanted the viewers to focus on the rift between Wakanda and Talokan, thus dropping the United States plot from the film. Possibly, this could be used some other time, in the future, when they find a good angle to fit it in.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently playing in theaters worldwide.
Source: The Direct
