Black Panther: Wakanda Forever continues to face setbacks just as filming for the sequel was set to resume. A COVID-19 outbreak on the set has caused yet another production pause for the Black Panther sequel.
THR reported the challenges of filming during the pandemic as a new COVID variant sweeps across the country. Among the productions affected is Black Panther 2 which just resumed production after Letitia Wright returned to the set after a stunt accident.
According to the report, several cast and crewmembers tested positive for COVID including Lupita Nyong’o, who is reprising her role as Nakia in the sequel.
The Marvel production is just one of several Hollywood productions affected by the post-holiday surge in coronavirus cases. It was recently reported that production on Star Trek: Picard was shut down after 50 people tested positive.
This is yet another blow to Black Panther which was just about to resume production after halting late last year. The reasoning was due to an on-set stunt accident that left Letitia Wright, who plays T’Challa’s younger sister Shuri, with a shoulder fracture and concussion.
The Black Panther 2 production team continued to film all the remaining scenes that didn’t require Wright but paused production once she was required back on set.
Despite the increase in outbreaks, sources say there’s not much hope in stricter vaccination rules on set. Hollywood productions have adopted a multi-tier system where members in the highest tiers, usually actors and those around them, have stricter safety requirements, those in lower tiers like postproduction do not and there are concerns that there could be outbreaks there that impact projects.
Regardless of the outbreak, Black Panther 2 is still set to be released in 2022 alongside other Marvel projects including Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder.
Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
