‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Fans Broke Down Over ‘Deafening’ Silence Unlike Any Other Marvel Movie
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finally brings the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) back to the lands of Wakanda. However, the tragic death of T’Challa actor Chadwick Boseman changed the film’s direction. The cast and audiences respected Marvel’s decision to move forward with the story without recasting him, but they shifted the narrative to continue his legacy. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever brings silence to the silver screen unlike any other MCU installment yet.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.]
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ takes moments of silence
The MCU is event-based cinema best experienced with a crowd. Long-time fans head to big-screen formats in droves, some of which are dressed up as their favorite characters or accessorized with the franchise’s merchandise. The crowd erupts into applause for big crowd-pleasing moments, such as Chris Evans’ Captain America finally uttering the words, “Avengers, assemble” in Avengers: Endgame.
However, these moments aren’t only reserved for the monumental action set pieces. The lights dim and the Marvel Studios logo is regularly met with cheers. The triumphant music and excitable clips projected over the familiar font from the MCU’s past only contribute to the overall experience that wants to hype you up before the story begins.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever takes a different approach with total silence. In honor of Boseman, the Marvel Studios logo only features images of the actor as T’Challa over the course of previous installments. There is no jubilant music. Rather, total silence fills this segment.
Writer/director Ryan Coogler instills pockets of silence throughout the movie, but the ending echoes the beginning once more. He beautifully dedicates the film to Boseman to complete silence, asking the audience to join him in honor of the actor.
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ fans broke down over emotional silence
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever yearns for the complete opposite of its audience with its silence. Yet, fans report that their crowds remain respectful of these moments. For some folks, this is due to the fact that they broke down from silence that they called “deafening.”
Richard Newby took to Twitter to share his memorable Black Panther: Wakanda Forever experience as “absolute, respectful, beautiful silence.” Other users responded in agreement that their crowd sunk into it, some of which shed tears.
Meanwhile, Jenna Rae wrote that it gave her goosebumps, describing the experience as one where “we were all grieving together & it was beautiful.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit expanded on the peaks and valleys that Coogler accomplished. He recalled that his premiere screening had the audience “gasp, cheer, clap, holler, sit in deafening silence, and tear up.”
The best film of Phase 4?
The moments of silence aren’t the only element that has Black Panther: Wakanda Forever audiences talking. Fans are taking to social media to compare their rankings of Marvel Phase 4 since this trip to Wakanda is the final installment for this phase.
Brandon Pope wrote on Twitter that the sequel is the “best film of the MCU Phase 4.”
The Rotten Tomatoes Tomato-meter also ranked Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as a formidable installment in Phase 4. As of the time of writing, it sits at an 86% critics score. This places Spider-Man: No Way Home and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as the only feature films to rank higher than the Black Panther sequel.
