Disney’s highly anticipated Black Panther sequel has hit a new speed bump.
The Marvel feature, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is temporarily shutting down due to the severity of the injury sustained by star Letitia Wright, sources close to the production tell The Hollywood Reporter.
Wright was injured in late August while the film was shooting a sequence involving a stunt rig on-location in Boston. At the time, Marvel Studios said Wright’s injury would ultimately not impact the shooting schedule of the film.
After the injury, Wright left for London, where the star has been since, while the production shot around her character, Shuri, the sister of Black Panther T’Challa. Wright’s Shuri became a fan-favorite breakout in the 2018 blockbuster, which grossed $1.3 billion and won three Oscars. When star Chadwick Boseman died from cancer in August 2020, the character was elevated as the lead of the sequel.
Wakanda Forever had been filming mostly in Atlanta for the last two months. Director Ryan Coogler is said to have shot all footage that his crew is able to without Wright.
Sources say the production is taking the hiatus to reconfigure the shoot to get things back on track for an early 2022 restart. The shutdown is expected to begin the week of Thanksgiving.
“Letitia has been recovering in London since September from injuries sustained on the set of Black Panther 2 and is looking forward to returning to work early 2022,” a representative for Wright said in a statement to THR. “Letitia kindly asks that you keep her in your prayers.”
Marvel already pushed back the release of Wakanda Forever in October, moving it from July 8, 2022, to Nov. 11, 2022. At this time, insiders say, that new release date remains intact.