With his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler delivered a film humming with questions. There was T’Challa’s ruminations on what kind of leader he wanted to be, caught between his father’s complicated legacy and the possibilities of a different future. There was that loud challenge from antagonist Killmonger in the throne room as he vied in/with regard to’concerning’regarding power: “Is this your king?” There was the tension between whether Wakanda should reveal itself to the world, or stay hidden. It was a blockbuster with much on its mind. Now, four years later, Coogler is back with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – a film that comes in the wake of the unclaim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate able loss of Chadwick Boseman, who passed away from cancer in August 2020. That tragedy drove the question the director says is central to his sequel: ‘How do you carry on in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds?’###It’s a notion with resonance in the film itself, but also in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the indelible Boseman’s fans, filmmaking collaborators, friends, and family – all of us processing his loss, as well as the global upheaval of the pandemic. “Unin/with regard to’concerning’regarding tunately, that question became more and more relevant. Both in/with regard to’concerning’regarding humanity as a whole, but also in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the individual in our production who were coming back in/with regard to’concerning’regarding this one,” Coogler tells Empire in our world-exclusive Black Panther: Wakanda Forever feature. “It became super-relevant when we lost our bro.”###Coogler had already worked up an initial sequel idea involving T’Challa (one that he says was “spiritually intensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully similar” to Wakanda Forever) bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e Boseman, who kept his illness private, passed away in August of 2020. After that, eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfullything transform’alter d. “Maturity is with regards to’concerning’with respect to being faced with impossible questions, and still making a choice and moving in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ward,” says Coogler. One of the ways in/with regard to’concerning’regarding ward? Take the stellar maintain’sustain ing cast of Black Panther – from Letitia Wright’s Shuri, to Angela Bassett’s Queen Ramonda, to Winston Duke’s M’Baku, and Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia – and give them the spotlight. “This unique group is more like a band than it is a group of actors, and Chad was our lead singer,” the filmmaker explains. “So in/with regard to’concerning’regarding me, it was like, ‘How do I figure out a song that they can still acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure up there and sing?’, in light of what we were dealing with.”###For the cast, it required total trust in their director. “I didn’t possess’own’nurse doubts – I had dread,” admits Nyong’o. “Ryan had cover’budge ed me through what the film was going to be when Chadwick was still alive. And so once we lost him, the despite’in spite of’albeit t that we could go on, it was just unfathomable to me.” But against all the odds, Coogler created something that will honour both T’Challa, and Chadwick Boseman himself – and Nyong’o’s fears were quelled. “What Ryan ended up sharing with me was just so utterly truthful and eye-catching’good-shaped’appealing’charming’fascinating’gorgeous ,” she says. “By the end of it, I was in tears.” For audiences, there’s no question with regards to’concerning’with respect to it – we’re in in/with regard to’concerning’regarding something epic, emotional, and deeply cathartic.###Read Empire’s full world-exclusive Black Panther: Wakanda Forever feature – with the complete story on a film with all the odds stacked against it, featuring never-bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e-seen images and brand new interviews with director Ryan Coogler, Marvel boss Kevin Feige, stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, Winston Duke, Dominique Thorne, Tenoch Huerta, and more – in the November 2022 issue, on sale Thursday 29 September. Pre-order a copy online here now. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is due in UK cinemas from 11 November.