Angela Bassett Says 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' Will 'Top' the First One

The sequel to Marvel's 2018 film is slated to premiere in November 2022.

Angela Bassett is excited for fans to see what the cast and crew of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever have been working on. The 63-year-old actress shared an update on the upcoming Marvel film during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Monday. 

When DeGeneres brought up the sequel, noting that it must be difficult to work on the project after the death of former lead Chadwick Boseman, who played King T'Challa in the first film and died in August 2020 at the age of 43 after a private battle with cancer. Bassett agreed, saying, "It is, he was such an example, such a leader. We just hope to raise the standard." 

But when the host asked if Bassett could share any further details on the project, the actress told her, "Absolutely not." She confirmed the existence of a sequel and shared the release, which DeGeneres noted was already public knowledge. Despite playing coy, Bassett gave fans a small tease to sate their hunger, temporarily. 

"It's going to be amazing. It's going to top one," she said, before jokingly asking if she was allowed to say that. 

Back in September, Bassett spoke with ET's Nischelle Turner about the second installment after Letitia Wright, who plays T'Challa's sister, Shuri, was hospitalized in Boston after a stunt mishap. 

Bassett, who plays Wright's on-screen mother, assured fans that the Wakandan princess is doing just fine. 

"She had a little bit of a fall, but it's not too bad," she told ET. "You know, anything like that will shake you up, but she's just a little, slight, little petite thing. But she is fine and ready to go." 

When asked about working on the film without Boseman, Bassett shared that the crew "still feel some kind of way in our heart" without the late actor. "So every day is just a testament and a lovefest for our dear," she told ET.

"Did your spirit settle when you read the Black Panther 2 script?" Turner asked Bassett. 

"Yes. You know, we still have Ryan [Coogler] and Joe Robert Cole, who wrote Black Panther one, so the two of them, these men, these brothers, they're going to bring it," she shared. "They love Black Panther, they love what they started. As they say, 'Finish the way you started.' They started great and they're going to do this one well as well."

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