“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Will Be One of the MCU’s Longest Films
It seems very fitting to hear that Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be one of the longest MCU films ever, considering the emotional heft of the film in the wake of the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman in 2020. This news comes courtesy of AMC Theaters (h/t Collider), which has Wakanda Forever clocking in at a healthy 2 hours and 41 minutes long.
There’s a tremendous amount to cover in Wakanda Forever, Coogler’s sequel to his 2018 game-changer Black Panther, so a long runtime isn’t surprising. The first and most difficult task for Coogler and his creative team is dealing with the loss of Boseman, who was, of course, Black Panther himself. As Kevin Feige recently revealed, there was never a plan to recast Boseman’s character, T’Challa, for the sequel, which means that Wakanda Forever will be directly dealing with the loss of T’Challa in some way, shape, or form, and that will take time. How Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia, Winston Duke’s M’Baku, Danai Gurira’s Okoye, Angela Bassett’s Ramonda, and Letitia Wright’s Shuri handle T’Challa’s loss is not something Coogler, his co-writer Joe Cole, or anyone else involved in the film was ever going to rush. Then there’s the new villain, Tenoch Huerta’s Namor, who will be making things difficult for Wakandans. Add to all this the fact that Wakanda Forever will also introduce a new Marvel superhero, Dominique Throne’s Ironheart, who will be starring in her own Disney+ series later. That’s a lot of narrative heavy lifting.
So where does this place Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on the list of longest MCU films? Right up at the top, in second place behind only Avengers: Endgame, which remains the longest MCU film at 3 hours and 1 minute, and ahead of the now third longest film, Avengers: Infinity War, which clocked in at 2 hours and 29 minutes. Wakanda Forever will be 27 minutes longer than the original Black Panther.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11.
For more on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, check out these stories:
Marvel’s Kevin Feige on Why They Didn’t Recast T’Challa for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Reveals New Poster & New Image of the Atlanteans
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Stars Winston Duke & Tenoch Huerta on the Emotional Sequel
New “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” Images + Synopsis Reveal Villain Namor
Featured image: Danai Gurira as Okoye in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
