After taking over box offices—and winning hearts—in the fall, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will finally be available to stream on Disney+ starting February 1.
The highly successful sequel to 2018’s Black Panther hit theaters November 11 and has since grossed over $821 million, per Deadline. It even set a new record for a November film opening in North America. And soon, it’ll reach even more audiences (and theatergoers hoping to re-watch) as it begins streaming online.
From director Ryan Coogler, Wakanda Forever centers on Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira), the Dora Milaje, and the titular kingdom as the aforementioned grapple with the loss of King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and protect their home from outside threats. The latter includes the sea-dwelling people of Talokan ruled by the mutant Namor (Tenoch Huerta), who makes his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Other newcomers in the film include warrior Aneka (Michaela Coel) and inventor Riri Williams/Ironheart (Dominique Thorne).
Aside from introducing new characters, visually stimulating the audience, and critiquing colonialism, Wakanda Forever is, at its heart, a story about grief—both onscreen and off. Just as the characters honored T’Challa’s legacy, the cast and crew celebrated and remembered Boseman, who died from colon cancer in 2020.
“In the moments that we have joy, I just sense him kicking back, laughing with God, like, ‘Wow, look at my sisters,’” Wright told ELLE UK. “We took all the love that we had for him and we put it into the film.”
The announcement of Wakanda Forever’s streaming date arrives just in time for awards season. Bassett and Rihanna, who provided two original songs for the film, are nominated for Golden Globes, while other acknowledgements continue to pour in. And if it happens to pick up any Oscar nominations at the end of January (you never know), viewers can catch it on Disney+ before the ceremony in March.
Watch Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she’s listening to Lorde right now.
