A cool new trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrived this week and it got me thinking about what I want to see in the sequel. We already know the story and most of the new main characters. We know a general course for the film to take. But a man like me, a dorky internet blogger, can still have some hopes and dreams for this awesome, upcoming sequel.

Anything can happy in Wakanda Forever. The movie is nearly three hours long, coming in as the second longest MCU movie. I am here for that. I do not mind long movies, and if that’s the length they wanted, give it to them. I trust Ryan Coogler and his team completely in honoring Chadwick Boseman and telling a great story that moves the Black Panther franchise forward. I’m firmly behind the idea of not recasting T’Challa. They could have recast, but that actor would have stepped into such big shoes. Instead, I’m excited to watch the excellent supporting cast step up and embrace the legacy.

We already know a lot of about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but join me after the jump anyway for certain specific things I hope to see in the upcoming sequel.

6. M’Baku being awesome

M’Baku was probably my favorite character from the first film. Not only was he an imposing antagonist, but he was funny and charming as well, because Winston Duke is apparently a pretty great actor. I’m hoping for big things for him going forward! Plus it’s great that they took a classic comic book villain — Man-Ape — and turned him into a more compelling character. I’m very much looking forward to M’Baku stepping up and becoming a force of power in the sequel, honoring T’Challa as the one male character in the cast. I’m all for seeing the women be awesome, but as a dude, I like having this awesome dude be there to also fight for Wakanda.

5. Walter Newell

Walter Newell is the Stingray in Marvel Comics, one of those obscure characters that holds a special place in my heart. He’s a classic Namor the Submariner character, so if Namor is going to be the lead antagonist in this new film, maybe slip in a Walter cameo? He doesn’t need to go full costume as the Stingray. There are tons of minor supporting roles in movies like this one. Maybe some ocean scientist gets a couple lines and he could be Walter Newell? Maybe another Game of Thrones hunk has secretly been cast and he shows up as a liaison between the surface world and Atlantis? Maybe he’s got an unannounced Disney+ spin-off already in the works? Nah, I’ll settle for a civilian identity cameo.

4. A truly devastating Namor

One big guess of mine is that Namor isn’t going to be the ultimate villain of Wakanda Forever. Akuma has already been announced as a character, and he’s a classic villain in the comics. So maybe Akuma is pulling some strings behind the scenes, sending Namor to war against Wakanda? Makes sense. But still, I want to see Namor go whole-hog into being antagonist, even if he comes around to being a good guy by the end. Call upon the full fury of the oceans! He’s not Aquaman, who was raised as a human and is a good dude. He’s Namor the Submariner, a force of aquatic nature and a ruler with an angry, iron fist. I hope the movie really pushes that part of him.

3. Clunky, mechanical Ironheart

We keep getting a bunch of glimpses of Ironheart, either in the new trailers or in action figures and other merch. I feel like I’ve seen half a dozen different armor designs. Whatever she settles on, I hope it’s really clunky and obviously mechanical. I’m not a fan of nano-suits, especially not nano-Iron Man. My favorite Iron Man armor is from the first two volumes of The Ultimate, when it’s this big, awkward thing that requires a whole team of engineers to suit up and launch. Iron Man is special because he’s a normal person in a high tech suit of armor. If the suit is practically liquid and flows over him, that’s Venom. I want a big, clunky, mechanical Ironheart.

2. Doctor Doom

This is the big rumor that’s floating around about Wakanda Forever: That Doctor Doom will make his first appearance in the MCU in this film. And I want it to happen. I want a post-credits scene where it’s revealed that Doom is the one pulling the strings on Akuma, who was pulling the strings on Namor to send Atlantis into war against Wakanda. I have full faith that Marvel Studios will do Doctor Doom right, and his position as King of Latveria will hopefully be part of that. And there’s no better movie than for an evil Marvel king to appear than Wakanda Forever!

1. A New New Black Panther

After the new trailer, everybody seems pretty convinced that Shuri is going to be the new Black Panther in the film. That’s my guess as well, and I’m largely fine with it. Shuri is a fun character and I like her, and she makes the most logical sense to inherit the throne and the mantle. But actor Letitia Wright went and made all those anti-vax, anti-mask, anti-trans comments, and that’s not cool. I’m not very militant about turning against celebrities who do that sort of thing, but it also doesn’t cost me anything to stop caring about her.

So if it’s up to me, I think all the clues pointing to Shuri as the new Black Panther are a red herring. I think she’ll take up the mantle, and that’s probably definitely her in the costume at the end of the new trailer. But I think the movie will swerve at some point by the third act and somebody else will become Black Panther, either Nakia or Okoye. Both of those choices sound good to me!

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