‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’: Angela Bassett Asked Ryan Coogler To Reconsider Her Character’s Fate

*Be warned, major spoilers ahead for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”*

Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is expected to cross $600 million at the global box office this weekend. And it’s really quite the feat that co-writer/director Ryan Coogler was able to pull off, given the heartbreaking development process after losing actor Chadwick Boseman and trying to get the massive film completed while honoring his memory. Of course, Boseman’s death left ample screentime for the collection of Wakandan characters introduced in the original movie.

While the overall execution of the sequel is undoubtedly subjective, one of the film’s highlights, alongside the arrival of the MCU incarnation of Namor (played by the fantastic Tenoch Huerta), was the immense performance of Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda. Grieving from the loss of her son, T’Challa, Ramonda has the weight of the world on her shoulders when she is forced to lead the nation without a protector. Then, she is forced to keep Namor/Talokan a secret and protect her country from outsiders looking to take their precious resources, which could lead to dangerous consequences.

READ MORE: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’: Co-Writer Joe Robert Cole Reveals Two Other Black Panther Replacements Considered For New Film

Bassett has previously discussed the multiple script incarnations the sequel went through. And it was recently revealed by The Hollywood Reporter the actress tried to convince Coogler to reverse his plan to kill off her character Ramonda while protecting Riri Williams from Namor’s aggressive act of war.

Bassett admitted to being “crestfallen” when she read her character’s death on the page. The actress was so upset she reached out to Coogler and asked if he could reconsider.

“Isn’t there something else you can do?” Bassett recalls asking Coogler, who then referenced the film’s mystical ancestral astral plane. “He was like, ‘In this world, death doesn’t always mean death.’”

According to the trade, she eventually reconciled her conflicted feelings and accepted the moment. If you think about it, T’Challa’s death in the movie is somewhat abstract because Boseman isn’t there, isn’t seen, and while we know he’s gone in real life, what ‘Wakanda Forever’ really needed and achieved with her passing, was a death and grieving that we could actually see and feel.

It’s certainly an impactful and emotional moment. It’s gutting for the franchise to lose such a powerful female character, but she has some meaty scenes to work with and obviously has already been generating Oscar buzz. With the ancestral astral plane allowing fallen family members to return, it’ll be interesting to see if Ramonda returns down the line for “Black Panther 3” or in other MCU projects like the multiple Wakandan/Disney+ projects on the horizon.