‘Wakanda Forever’ First Reviews Call It a Great Sequel

There’s a lot riding on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It is Marvel’s attempt to continue what looked to be their most lucrative solo franchise after the death of its star Chadwick Boseman. It’s also the final film of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and the company’s latest attempt to turn around the somewhat rocky reception of several of its recent movies since the release of Avengers: Endgame.

The final scores from both critics and audiences are still several weeks away, but the movie had its very first screening at its world premiere in Los Angeles tonight. With it came its early reactions on social media from critics and assorted other figures from the world of film. And by and large, they thought Wakanda Forever was great. They used words like “outstanding,” “epic,” “ambitious,” “poignant,” and “powerful” to describe it. They had very few complaints overall; it was mostly one rave after another. Most tweets agreed it was the best film in Phase Four of the MCU.

Of the performers trying to fill the void left by the late Boseman, who died in August 28 after a private battle with colon cancer,  the one who got the best notices was Tenoch Huerta, the new addition to the cast who plays Marvel’s famous underwater hero Namor. In the film, Namor is the leader of the kingdom of Talocan that comes into conflict with Wakanda, which is reeling from the death of its leader and hero, T’Challa.

Here’s a sampling of the early Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reactions:

Even Knives Out filmmaker Rian Johnson got into the act with a tweet of his own. (And he would know what he’s talking about here.)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is scheduled to open in theaters on November 11. We’ll have loads more coverage — and our own review — in the weeks ahead.