Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Following Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman's death in 2020, director Ryan Coogler might've considered a sequel to his hit Marvel movie near-impossible. But Black Panther: Wakanda Forever went ahead and emerges as a thrilling sequel. It is both a respectful nod to Boseman and his character King T'Challa, who dies at the very outset, and an engaging, female-driven continuation of the story. T'Challa was always surrounded by women, including his mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett), sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) and warrior-spy Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o); now it's they who must protect Wakanda. There is a new enemy in the form of Namor (a superb Tenoch Huerta), the king of a secret underwater race, whose own existence is threatened by forces above ground. There's also a key new character, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a scientist who has even invented her own Iron Man-style suit. Still, for all the plentiful spectacle, it's the melancholy mood stemming from the loss of T'Challa that strikes the loudest emotional chord, making this one of the MCU's most mature movies.