Ahead of the anticipated premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, ABC will air a new special about the film, titled Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda, which will pay tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman and delve into the film's impact across the world.
The special will contain interviews from the cast and crew, unseen footage from the upcoming film, and an exclusive interview with Boseman's wife, Simone Ledward Boseman.
Black Panther was much more than a film. Simultaneously, Chadwick Boseman surpassed the motif of just another superhero actor with his portrayal of King T'Challa in the Ryan Coogler directorial.
It is already heavily implied that the new film will deal with the themes of legacy and loss after the death of Wakanda's king. Boseman was originally supposed to appear in the film, but his untimely death from colon cancer forced the director to rewrite the script.
Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda will premiere on Friday, November 4, 2022, at 9 pm EST on the ABC channel. It will also be available to stream on Hulu.
Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda - An exploration of a legacy
With Coogler accommodating T'Challa's death in the upcoming film, Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda will also explore the actor's legacy and the character that has left a huge mark on the pop culture scenario around the world. Among other things, the interview with Simone Ledward Boseman will be one of the things in Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda that is sure to draw tears.
In a previous interview, Boseman's wife recalled:
"It has been the most challenging two years I have ever had in my life,...“I can’t believe that I got to love this person and I also got him to love me too,...Some days I’m doing worse than I’m really willing to acknowledge and other days I’m doing better than I feel comfortable admitting...The grief really, it moves in."
Boseman's death will definitely be a major theme of the television special. The official synopsis for Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda reads:
"ABC News Studios partners with Rock’n Robin Productions for “20/20 Presents Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda,” the one-hour program hosted by “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts exploring the evolution of Black Panther from the comic emerging in the 1960s to the film the world fell in love with in 2018.
"Roberts sits down with director Ryan Coogler to discuss the highly anticipated sequel to the Marvel Studios’ phenomenon,“Black Panther,” and how the film honors the legacy of Chadwick Boseman.
"EGOT winner and moderator of “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg, exclusively interviews Boseman’s widow, Simone Ledward Boseman. In homage to King T’Challa and one week in advance of the film’s premiere, the program features an exclusive sneak peek of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” “20/20 Presents Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda."
The upcoming television special will also reportedly travel to the continent of Africa in a bid to delve into the things that inspired the original film.
Catch this celebration of Chadwick Boseman's life with ABC's latest television special on November 4, 2022.