Letitia Wright’s vaccination status may cause problems for Black Panther 2

The producers behind Black Panther: Wakanda Forever have a difficult job: the first movie was a huge hit, but before work on the sequel began, star Chadwick Boseman, who played King T’Challa, tragically passed. As Black Panther 2 moves forward, producers like Nate Moore are very sensitive about it honoring the late actor.

“I think this movie has a different sort of pressure on it,” Moore said on ComicBook.com’s Phase Zero podcast. “Obviously, with the loss of Chadwick, which was unexpected and unprecedented in a way narratively to figure out how to deal with. So, beyond, ‘Hey, we want to make a big, fun time’ … It’s: ‘How do we do right by his legacy and tell a story that isn’t exploitative?’ — which we would never ever do — ‘but build on the things that he loved about the property and build on the things that he brought to the property in a way that is enjoyable, feels real, feels earned, feels organic?’ Because I think people are gonna see the movie in two lenses: pure entertainment, but also cathartic. We have to be conscious of both of those lenses as we’re making it.”

The narrative solution has been to give a bigger role to T’Challa’s little sister Shuri, played by Leticia Wright; Shuri eventually becomes Black Panther in the Marvel comics, so it makes sense.

Letitia Wright may not be able to keep filming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

But there have been issues. For instance, production on the movie had to shut down after Wright suffered an injury on set. There have been optics problems, too, like when Wright was slammed for spreading vaccine misinformation late last year.

And vaccines are at the heard of the latest hurdle. On Monday, the CDC issued new guidelines that require non-citizen, non-immigrant travelers to present proof of vaccination before gaining entry into the United States. Wright, a British citizen, has been recovering from her injury in London. Black Panther: Wanaka is being filmed in Atlanta. According to sources at The Hollywood Reporter, Wright is not vaccinated, which isn’t a shock given her rhetoric online. So the question becomes, even when she’s good to go again, can Marvel get her back into the country to film?

This comes at a time when the Biden administration is increasing efforts to get people vaccinated, forcing Hollywood to get more serious about its own enforcement. We’ve heard stories like Ice Cube leaving the Sony comedy Oh Hell No after refusing a request from producers to get vaccinated, and there will probably be more stories like that before this is all over. As one producer told THR, “Nobody wants an Aaron Rodgers situation,” referring to the NFL star who ignored COVID guidelines before testing positive for the virus.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently scheduled to come out on November 11, 2022.

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