‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Halts Filming As Letitia Wright Recovers From On-Set Injury
The highly anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe feature, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, has paused production due to a new speed bump: a severe injury sustained by star Letitia Wright.
Sources close to the production spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about how the 28-year-old was hurt in late August while the film was shooting a sequence involving a stunt rig on-location in Boston. At the time, Marvel Studios said her injury would not impact the shooting schedule of the film.
This new snag for the production has resulted in Wright leaving for London, where she has been rehabbing ever since. Meanwhile, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has, up until to point of halting, shot around her character, Shuri, the sister of T’Challa, who was king of Wakanda and the protector Black Panther.
The character was portrayed by Chadwick Boseman in the original 2018 film, Black Panther. Boseman died last year at 43 after a battle with cancer.
Despite Boseman’s death, Marvel Studios decided to continue the series with returning cast members and new characters, but also to not replace Boseman with a different actor.
Wright, whose character became a fan-favorite in the original film as well as Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, has also been featured in 2019’s Guava Island with Donald Glover and Rihanna, and 2021’s Sing 2. When Boseman passed away, Wright’s Shuri was elevated as the lead of the sequel.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources say the hiatus is meant to reconfigure the shoot to get things back on track for an early 2022 restart. The shutdown is expected to begin in the oncoming weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.
“Letitia has been recovering in London since September from injuries sustained on the set of Black Panther 2 and is looking forward to returning to work early 2022,” a representative for Wright said in a statement to THR.
“Letitia kindly asks that you keep her in your prayers.”
Wakanda Forever has already experienced a delay in its release, being pushed back from July 8, 2022, to Nov. 11, 2022.
