A rumor in early 2021 said that Marvel inked a deal with Ryan Coogler that covered the Wakanda Forever sequel as well as a Wakanda Disney Plus TV show. The latter would further explore the world of Black Panther. We haven’t heard anything since then on the matter. But it looks like the mysterious Wakanda TV project is still in development.
Some spoilers might follow, especially if you haven’t seen Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Why the world of Wakanda is so exciting right now
Exploring Wakanda is an exciting prospect. And the premise is best suited for a Disney Plus show rather than a movie. Also, exploring the country in the aftermath of Wakanda Forever is even more interesting.
As a reminder, the Talokan attacked Wakanda killing Ramonda (Angela Bassett). This convinced Shuri (Letitia Wright) to take up the mantle of Black Panther. She ultimately defeated Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and coerced him into an alliance.
But Shuri doesn’t also want to be the queen of Wakanda. We see M’Baku (Winston Duke) at the end of the sequel challenging the throne. And it’s not a joke, as some might have interpreted it.
If that’s not enough drama, Wakanda Forever also brought forward several other interesting political developments in the aftermath of Endgame. The world despises Wakanda for its exclusive access to vibranium and would go to great lengths to remove the precious metal from the African nation. A conflict with the MCU’s US seems inevitable, especially with Val (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) at the helm of the CIA.
This is all happening in a world that has no Avengers on call, a detail that Kevin Feige revealed during D23 Expo and a detail Marvel could have dropped during Phase 4. This explains the Avengers weren’t in the movies and shows of Phase 4, including Wakanda Forever.
We’ll also point out that Wakanda has a legitimate successor to the throne: young T’Challa, the son of T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o).
Finally, there’s a great Okoye (Danai Gurira) character development that Marvel stripped from the final cut of Wakanda Forever. We know as much from the deleted scenes, and Okoye is another great MCU character worth exploring.
When will the Wakanda TV show launch on Disney Plus?
According to The Cosmic Circus, the working title for the Wakanda Disney Plus show is Golden City. This is a direct reference to Wakanda’s capital.
The project will come from Maglev Train Production, a company that Marvel registered in the summer of 2021. The name also clearly references Wakanda’s advanced magnetic levitation train system.
But the report doesn’t offer any details about the TV show’s Disney Plus premiere. Also, it’s unclear when production will start, what the story is about, and what characters we should expect from a Wakanda TV show.
It’s important to remember that both Disney and Marvel have teased a change in strategy regarding the MCU movies and TV shows. Kevin Feige said Disney Plus titles will be more spaced out, teasing that Marvel might launch fewer projects. Separately, Bob Iger questioned the need for multiple movie sequels for some MCU characters.
On top of that, a big leak claims that massive delays are in order for MCU 5, 6, and 7. The latter hasn’t been announced but will reportedly be part of the Multiverse Saga.
There’s certainly room for Wakanda in the MCU, especially considering that the new Black Panther should be one of the Avengers leaders in Secret Wars.
As for the overall story of the Wakanda show, The Cosmic Circus mentions a rumor dating back to the early days of filming for Wakanda Forever. Sources told the blog at the time that Marvel was considering a movie or TV show for a story centered on Nakia and young T’Challa. The latter would try to overthrow a dictator of Wakanda: M’Baku.
Given that T’Challa is very young, this seems an unlikely course of events for the TV show. Still, it proves that Wakanda can offer plenty of interesting stories for the MCU that don’t necessarily need to focus on Black Panther.
