Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Ending and Post-Credits Spoilers Explained! What Does THAT Particular Moment Mean?

Unlike what Marvel leaders anticipated, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has a post-credit scene. Only one, placed in the middle of the credits, after the animated part of the same and before the long black and white reel. Not only that: it is one of the longest extra scenes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) seen so far, well over 4 minutes. Its content is also particularly relevant, introducing a big twist and revealing a crucial detail for the destinies of Wakanda and the whole MCU.

What happens in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever post-credit scene, who appears and what does it mean for the future of the franchise? Let’s find out together. Read this in-depth analysis only if you have already seen the film or if you are not afraid of spoilers. Alternatively, you can take a look at our review of the film without previews, which you can read here: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the most exciting Marvel film ever.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Plot Summary

It starts with a funeral, that of King T’Challa: he died of an unspecified and sudden illness. We never see and will never see his Black Panther, but only his family and his people celebrate him and try to come to terms with this unexpected tragedy. In short, reality and fiction are mixed in this prologue that appears as melancholy as it is sincere. A year later it is Queen Mother Ramonda who holds the ranks of Wakanda and hard-nosed the other more powerful members of the UN who continue to look for an excuse to be able to take possession of the precious vibranium.

And if the mother continues to protect the country with diplomacy, Princess Shuri focuses on her knowledge and technological skills to design new weapons and new defence systems, well aware that Wakanda is no longer safe. But the danger comes from the most unexpected place of all: the depths of the ocean. And it bears a name that comic book fans know well but that makes its screen debut here: Namor is the king of Talokan, an ancient civilization that lives underwater and that for centuries has always kept itself hidden from the rest of the world. world. Only now has he decided to show up with the Wakandians, seeing in them a possible ally against those who live on the surface and think only of plundering the resources of others. But with so many interests at stake, the boundary between friends and enemies is becoming increasingly blurred.

After Chadwick Boseman passed away, I wondered several times how they would set up the Black Panther sequel. I couldn’t help thinking that there would have been a Black Panther movie without its real protagonist, but unexpectedly I had an emotionally devastating experience. I confirm this after I had the opportunity to see the film for a second time and after that, on both occasions, I was overwhelmed by the emotions that the whole cast was able to convey. It must not have been easy to work on this film, just as it is not easy not to be influenced by what happened to Chadwick.

The risk of making a film that was just a simple homage to Boseman was very high, but Ryan Coogler didn’t stop there. The American director has built a mature story as we have hardly seen previously in the MCU. A lot revolves around the acceptance of bereavement and the different reactions people have after the disappearance of a loved one. Anger, disappointment, resignation and many other emotions, in some cases even positive, are very close to those experienced in real life. The fact that T’Challa ‘s death is presented in a realistic and non-superhero way I found it a strength. The “normality” of the disappearance of Black Panther involved a lot of the emotional transport that faces his family and his people. A difficult choice that in the end turned out to be a winner and that, thanks to the construction of the characters and the plot, makes Wakanda Forever one of the best products of Marvel Studios.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Post-Credit Scene Explained

— SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and don’t want to know any plot details, stop reading this article here—

Yes, there is a post-credits scene, which is more of a mid-credit scene. The film concludes with Shuri in Haiti, burning the funeral robe in which, she bid T’Challa farewell, early in the sequel. This looking to close the circle around the duel for her brother. This is a symbolic gesture previously referenced by Queen Ramonda, just before they met Namor.

The credits show close-ups of the robe burning with Rihanna’s Lift Me in the background before the bonus scene brings the audience back to Shuri in that same intimate moment. Then, in the background, you can see how Nakia comes to accompany her, but she does not come alone, since she has the company of a boy who is no more than 10 years old.

Shuri Goes to Haiti: The Mourning Ritual

The first part of the extra scene of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is dedicated to Shuri, the absolute protagonist of the film. To understand this passage we must refer to an earlier scene in the film: the one in which Queen Ramonda invites her daughter to follow her into a clearing in Wakanda. The woman, worried about her daughter’s mental state, wants to teach her an ancient ritual to get in touch with her ancestors and recently deceased people. The two are interrupted by the arrival of Namor and Ramonda does not have time to explain to Shuri how this ritual is carried out if not her first step: burning the white mourning dress worn during her funeral.

After the events of the film, Shuri follows Nakia’s advice and visits her in Haiti. After the fight with Namor Shuri is impatient to find some peace and decides to do the ritual on a Haitian beach. She asks Nakia to leave her alone, takes out the white robe she wore at both her brother’s and her mother’s funerals and sets it on fire. We see it burn right on the credits. Shuri cries, finally able to move on to a later stage of the double bereavement that has struck her.

T’Challa Lives: A New Heir For Wakanda

Shortly thereafter she is joined by Nakia, who asks if she can sit by the fire with her. Nakia has a 5 or 6 year old boy with her. The little boy introduces himself saying his name is Tussan. Shuri tells him that he has a nice name. Nakia reveals the truth to Shuri: the name Tussan is Haitian, but the real one is T’Challa. The child is the son of her and the former king of Wakanda. 

T’Challa and Nakia had decided to raise the little one away from the pressures of the throne and power games within Wakanda. Shuri asks Nakia if Ramonda was aware of his existence of him and Nakia replies yes. It was probably this information that the queen was referring to before she was interrupted by Namor when she told Shuri “I have to tell you something about T’Challa”.

Tussan or T’Challa if you prefer so he is a Wakandian crown prince in all respects. He is raised by his mother Nakia far from his homeland, but aware of his rank. The existence of T’Challa’s son has been kept secret from everyone in Wakanda, in agreement with the former king and Black Panther, to keep him safe. A few years after his birth, his existence is still known to very few. Shuri looks at her missing brother’s son she didn’t know about until a few minutes before her and she, excited, hugs him.

Attention to another detail not detected by Marvel: immediately after this scene, on the actual credits, a second song sung by Rihanna starts, a song different from Lift Me (whose meaning you can find out by reading this in-depth analysis: Rihanna, the song for Black Panther 2, lyrics and meaning). The song is called Born Again and at the moment it has not yet been made available on Spotify and other platforms, so the only way to listen to it is to stay in the room after the extra scene!

Nakia then introduces Shuri to little Touissant, while the boy introduces his “aunt”; showing that the warrior and spy had a child with T’Challa long before she passed away. Shuri tells Toussaint that he has a nice name and that it is steeped in history. The comment that is not gratuitous: François Dominique Toussaint Louverture was one of the main leaders of the Haitian Revolution. As a politician and military man, he laid the seeds for the definitive eradication of slavery in Haiti and, subsequently, as a result, in the entire world.

The child had been kept secret by mutual agreement between Nakia and T’Challa, to keep him away from the shock of living near the throne and royalty. Something that also makes one think about the reasons that keep Nakia away from Wakanda. Also, the character played by Lupita N’yongo tells the new Black Panther that Ramonda got to know the boy before Namor killed her; and that T’Challa prepared them both before his death, in addition to asking them not to attend the funeral, because “it was too soon”, which is why they had their funeral ceremony between them on the island where they remain settled.

Before the scene ends, Toussaint tells his aunt that this is his Haitian name, and then he reveals his true identity: I am Prince T’Challa, son of King T’Challa. Given this, Shuri is excited and proud of the new member of the family, although this implies that the true king of Wakanda is the little one, as heir to the deceased regent, so it would be up to him to adopt the mantle of Black Panther. After the credits, there is no other scene, but the promise that “Black Panther will return“.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Ending Explained

In the final part of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever there are the latest skirmishes between the Wakandians and the people of Talocan, with fellow citizens of Namor (Tenoch Huerta) who seem to have the upper hand initially. Everything changes, however, when Shuri (Laetitia Wright) manages to defeat Namor, separately, saving him, among other things, his life. Returning to the sons of Talocan, their leader makes him understand that he is ready for a peaceful alliance with the Wakandians who have not only proved their worth but have confirmed that they are loyal people.

Having said that, even if it seems that everything has been resolved between the two peoples, Namor himself confides privately to Namora (Mabel Cadena), very opposed to the alliance, that this relationship of “friendship” can be useful for any purpose. other than peaceful, heralding a possible expansion of Talocan into other territories. In addition to that, this sequence implicitly confirms that the villain embodied by Huerta will probably have future life later and therefore will not disappear completely.

Returning to our heroes, the protagonist Shuri, first of all, gives an elegant car to Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) who in the end decides to stay in Wakanda to work with her new friends. Meanwhile, the new Black Panther seems to want to give up his task as can be deduced from the words of M’Baku (Winston Duke) who when he presents himself to the Council of the country makes it clear that a challenge is needed to decree the new ruler of the kingdom.

In the final part of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Shuri goes to Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), who has been away from Wakanda for years and returned only to defend her people. On this occasion, the two, probably the closest people to T’Challa currently living (remember that Shuri’s mother Ramonda also dies in the film) finally say goodbye for the last time to Black Panther, setting fire to her clothes of her in a bonfire. A very moving passage that also takes on meta cinematographic values, therefore a sort of definitive farewell to the character according to Marvel Studios. But that scene doesn’t end there.