Angela Bassett Gives Reaction to First Hearing About Her Character's Plot Twist in BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER

I got to see Marvel’s latest, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, on opening night last week, and it had me feeling all the emotions from loss and sadness to joy and triumph. It was such a great movie, and the perfect tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, our forever Black Panther.

Many of the film’s cast members were grieving while making this movie, as Boseman was their close friend. But the loss of T’Challa wasn’t the only reason fans were sad while watching. Before we dive in, I’ll just make sure you know there are spoilers ahead.

In a recent interview with IndieWire, Angela Bassett, who plays Wakanda’s Queen Ramonda in the films, sat down to talk about her character’s arc in the sequel. She first explained what a collaboration it is to work with director Ryan Coogler, saying:

“He’s extremely clear on the story and what he’s doing, but the way he carries himself around the cast and the crew. It’s so collaborative. He’s so self-effacing. That impostor syndrome that we’re feeling or whatever, he will just say it out loud. ‘I don’t know about these words. Are you OK with them?’ And he really invites you to have your say, be a part, which is wonderful. He doesn’t straightjacket you.”

However, Bassett revealed that the decision to kill Queen Ramonda was not a plot point she was immediately on board with. She explained:

“I objected. Yeah, I was like, ‘Ryan, what are you doing? Why? You will rue the day! You will rue the demise of [Ramonda]. People are gonna be so upset.'”

Then Coogler, known for his cool-headed demeanor, explained himself.

“‘He was like, ‘Angela, I know, I know, but look, to die is not really to die in this world. It doesn’t really have to mean that.’”

She was assured of his choice after thinking back on how many characters “poofed” back to life in Avengers: Endgame, reversing Thanos’ catastrophic snap of the Infinity Gauntlet. It wasn’t unthinkable, she reasoned, that she might come back some day, saying, “All kinds of crazy things happen.”

While Ramonda is gone, seemingly forever, she is not forgotten. Bassett gave the character a humble poise and a fire that we aren’t soon to forget. May she rest in power.