Writer-director Ryan Coogler recently discussed how Terminator 2: Judgment Day influenced Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Following the blockbuster success of 2018's Black Panther, Coogler returns to direct his highly-anticipated follow-up. The final film in Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase Four finds the Kingdom of Wakanda reeling from King T'Challa's (Chadwick Boseman) untimely death. Without their superpowered hero, the fictional nation finds itself under a new threat from the underwater kingdom of Talocan and its king, Namor (Tenoch Huerta).

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sees the return of Danai Gurira as the Dora Milaje leader Okoye, Letitia Wright as T'Challa's sister Shuri, Angela Bassett as T'Challa's mother as Queen Ramonda, Lupita Nyong'o as spy and T'Challa's former love interest Nakia, and Winston Duke as the leader of the Jabari clan, M'Baku. The movie is also set to introduce Riri Williams, a genius MIT student, and inventor who will create an Iron Man-style armored suit and become the superhero known as Ironheart. With such a stunning cast and hype at an all-time high, the film is expected to be the MCU's second-highest grossing opening weekend of the year.

In a recent interview with Collider, Coogler explained how Terminator 2: Judgement Day influenced Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Directed by James Cameron and released in 1991, the science-fiction action featured Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to the franchise as a T-800 programmed to protect John Connor from the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), an advanced robot dead-set on killing the future savior. Coogler explained that Cameron's film was a "big inspiration" that helped shape the Black Panther sequel's narrative as it features two characters who both "want the same things but because of who they are and what shaped them, they want to get those things in different ways..." Read more of what the director said below:

"Terminator 2 is a big inspiration for this movie. Big time. And you think about what T-1000 wants, and what Arnold Schwarzenegger's robot wants. They both want John Connor, but T-1000 wants to kill him, Arnold Schwarzenegger's character wants to protect him. That's the movie. And I look at it like that and also try to spend time with them. Not too much, you know what I'm saying? But enough that you understand where they're coming from and that you believe them when they make threats."
What Terminator 2's Influence Means For Black Panther 2


Coogler's comments reveal that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will feature a tense story between Wakanda and Namor that will likely do anything to achieve a goal they both share. With stakes assuredly very high, failure may lead to either Wakanda or Talocan's destruction. As Coogler explained that he does not see his antagonists as villains, Namor's goal is likely a noble one, but his tactics may prove to be too harsh and ultimately too destructive.

With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's plot details kept under wraps, there has been a lot of speculation as to what Namor truly wants to achieve in the upcoming sequel. With Huerta previously revealing that Coogler humanizes Namor, an antagonist who only attacks Wakanda after they have revealed their true nature to the world, the sea-dwelling mutant likely feels that he needs to take action to protect his people and home. The war appears to not be one out of greed or want of any material possession, but of necessity for survival. However, audiences do not have to wait much further to see who wins the coming conflict when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases on November 11.