Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” marked the big finale of Marvel’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday night, giving fans in attendance their first look at the sequel — and their first look at Tenoch Huerta as Namor.
Of course, Marvel president Kevin Feige was on hand for everything, and introduced the panel with the love and fanfare it deserved, saying “we’ve talked about the past, we’ve talked about the future, now it’s time to talk about… Forever.” At that, a group of African musicians came out to hype up the crowd.
You can watch the first teaser for the film in the video above.
Then, Coogler himself came out to address everyone and introduce the trailer. But, before the footage itself started, the Marvel team paid tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman.
“Five years ago, sat about right there, we premiered the first footage form Black Panther 1, and sitting next to me right there on my left was… the late, great Chadwick Boseman,” Coogler recalled, tearing up a bit. “Standing here with y’all right now, listening to that music, I promise you, I can feel his hand on me right now,” Coogler said, assuring fans that the cast and crew put their love for Boseman into the film.
If you were worried at all about the outcome of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and, to be sure, there was plenty to be worried about, including reports of unvaccinated cast members, competing script drafts and general unease, this trailer will put all of that unease aside. The original “Black Panther” is arguably the very best Marvel Studios movie and the sequel looks like a worthy successor. Yibambe! (Yibambe!)
The cast of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is, of course, very stacked. Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Letitia Wright and Florence Kasumba are all returning from the original film, while newcomers include Dominique Thorne (as genius inventor Riri Williams) and Tenoche Huerta (as the villainous Namor).
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” hits theaters on November 11, 2022.
Ross Lincoln contributed to this reporting.