Wakanda Forever: Talokan was Chosen to Further the Colonization Themes

Wakanda had been a unique element in the Marvel universe in that it was a highly-advanced hidden city, but the sequel had just presented fans with a new hidden city in the form of Talokan. Though the city was originally supposed to be Atlantis, director Ryan Coogler had decided to change its origins to further the colonization themes that the first film had.

Black Panther producer Nate Moore explains to Variety, “Ryan wanted to put the amount of effort and love in what is now Talokan in the same way he did with Wakanda… He was looking for another culture to serve as an anchor point, and to continue the conversation thematically about colonization and what that means.”

If anything, the film kind of puts Namor in the position of T’Challa before he opened Wakanda up to the rest of the world. The problem was that with the rest of the world now looking for Vibranium, they ended up finding a source different from Wakanda, and that put the kingdom of Talokan at risk—forcing Namor to push Wakanda into making a choice.

For now, the film has managed to get raving reviews from critics, and personally, I think it’s a huge improvement from the first film, from the scale of spectacle to the atmospheric music. It’s almost too tragic that Chadwick Boseman didn’t get to be in this film. Even so, the movie does pay tribute to him in a great way, and ensures the Panther legacy manages to move forward.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever comes to theaters on Nov. 11.