Angela Bassett wasn’t always keen on Queen Ramonda’s arc in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Angela Bassett butt heads with Ryan Coogler a bit while filming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
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[This article contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.]
Following her original appearance as Wakanda’s Queen Ramonda in Black Panther, Angela Bassett was not sure how she would continue to fit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She would go on to appear in 2019's Avengers: Endgame as Ramonda, but the outlook on her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever remained still blurry. Then, with the death of Chadwick Boseman in 2020, it became very clear how vital Bassett’s Ramonda would be in the long-awaited sequel.
“At the end of [Black Panther] I didn’t know if I was coming back. I certainly hoped I would. I didn’t die,” Bassett tells IndieWire.
In the wake of Boseman’s death, Bassett recalls a phone call with writer-director Ryan Coogler. “Ramonda now has got to step up,” she says he told her. “She’s got to be there for Shuri, she’s queen. You’re just a very important place in this movie.”
The role of Ramonda would take on a new weight for Bassett for Wakanda Forever, especially as she took over the throne previously held by Boseman’s T’Challa.
“I just felt a responsibility,” she says. “I remember the first day, the first scene where I had to sit [on the throne], it’s like, ‘How exactly do I sit here? What is the best posture to convey who she is?’”
As aforementioned by Bassett, Ramonda did not die in the first Black Panther film. However, Coogler had very different plans this time around, much to the chagrin of Bassett.
“I objected,” Bassett says. “Yeah, I was like, ‘Ryan, what are you doing? Why? You will rue the day! You will rue the demise of [Ramonda]. People are gonna be so upset.’”
“‘He was like, ‘Angela, I know, I know, but look, to die is not really to die in this world. It doesn’t really have to mean that,’” she continues. He then reminded Bassett how death is often undone in the Marvel universe, and there’s always the chance she could come back.
When it comes to her possible return to Wakanda, Bassett says, “All kinds of crazy things happen.”
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He then reminded Bassett how death is often undone in the Marvel universe, and there’s always the chance she could come back.I mean, she died on screen. Those are the deaths characters don’t come back from.
There’s always the Ancestral Plane! And the multiverse. And flashbacks. And… Marvel Zombies?
True, but if it’s a character from a different universe, it wont be the same Ramonda.
I wonder if each universe has its own ancestral plane…
I’d wager it’ll be enough to satisfy her, though. I’m not saying she doesn’t care about the character’s arc, but I’m guessing getting cut from the most profitable film franchise in history might have a bit more to do with it.
Hey, as long as it’s to be played by the same actress, Ms. Bassett still gets to collect a well-deserved check!
A coma would have made more sense, taking Queen Ramonda off the stage and forcing Shuri to lead, while also allowing Angela Bassett to return in a future film.
I love Angela Bassett and I love Queen Ramonda, but it would feel hollow if Marvel undid her death.They have already done it far too many times, dating back to first Avengers film (well if they could be bothered to properly acknowledge Agents of Shield).
Agents of Shield is in a weird gray space, and in the mainline MCU I’m struggling to think of anyone they’ve killed-for-real in a movie or show (Blip excluded) and later brought-back-for-real other than Vision. I guess Loki counts, but that’s his thing, as Thor noted.
Why did Ramona get to lead the country without having to win ritual combat like all the other leaders?Also, am I the only one who thinks it’s maybe a little bit racist to say that the idyllic Black country picks their leader through violence? I get it’s a comic movie but um… Black people using violence to solve their problems is kind of a racist trope, no?
If there’s any justice this awards season, Bassett will take the best supporting actress trophies to Michelle Yeoh’s best actress wins.
Where is Queen Ramonda’s Marvel Legends action figure?
Yeah, I just finally saw this last night, and Bassett was absolutely magnetic in every scene. She absolutely deserves a nomination and/or win.
She was the best part of Wakanda Forever, and I liked the movie a lot.
She kicks an incredible amount of arse, acting wise.I don’t know if you know the YouTube channel “Cosmonaut Variety Hour”, but that guy did a review of ‘Wakanda Forever’ and said she’s “acting like her career is finished if this movie tanks”, which I thought was a great line.
The biggest mistake this movie made was shoehorning in a new franchise (Riri should have had her own standalone origin movie) instead of focusing on Wakanda and Namor.But the absolute worst mistake this movie made was to kill off one of Black Panther’s best characters. Especially having her sacrifice her life — not for her people, not for her family — but for a stranger she basically just met. Imagine if Queen Elizabeth II had jumped into the Thames in the middle of WW2 to save a stranger and drowned. This repeats Marvel’s senseless sacrifice of Queen Frigga in Thor: Dark World but hits far harder here due to it being Angela Bassett who is being wasted.Also, “Angela, I know, I know, but look, to die is not really to die in this world. It doesn’t really have to mean that.” is a great outline of storytelling that doesn’t respect its characters, their deaths, or any narrative stakes.