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Marvel’s “Black Panther” is viewed by many as a win for the culture that T'Challa and his community represent. What happens when the actor who played T'Challa is gone? 

Why it matters: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, the long-awaited sequel to Marvel’s first “Black Panther” movie, is projected to be hugely successful, capitalizing on the popularity that created Black America's big screen hero.

Driving the news: As of Sunday, the movie had earned $180 million across North American theaters since its release last week, making it the second opening of the year. Overseas, it brought in an additional $150 million from 50 territories, bringing its worldwide total to $330 million.

The intrigue: “Wakanda Forever” had to move the franchise with a new leader after Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer in 2020. The beloved actor played T’Challa in the original film.

Women are expected to play heightened roles in the new film.

What they're saying: “Wakanda Forever” is “something unique” and the sequel “puts Black women first and foremost in a movie,” Jesse Holland, author of Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther?, told Axios. 

Audiences will see greater representation of the Dora Milaje, the skilled female warriors of Wakanda, he said

“Outside of Storm (Marvel’s X-Men), who has never been the center of any movie, there’s been very few black women portrayed as powerful, independent superheroes.”  

Flashback: Marvel originally introduced the Black Panther, one of its first Black superheroes. in 1966. That's a year after Malcolm X was killed and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. 

Black Panther first appeared in Fantastic Four No. 52 and joined the Avengers in 1968.

“This is, frankly, why Afrofuturism began,” Holland said. 

Context: Afrofuturism describes an alternative place for Black people in space or a fantasy setting, or in relation to technology that allows one to escape slavery and discrimination.

Between the lines: The new film pushes the limits amid persistent resistance to diversity embraced on the big screen, Sheree Renee Thomas, author of Black Panther: Panther's Rage, told Axios.

Even in science fiction worlds, outrage surfaced when Disney announced the new live-action version "Little Mermaid" would swap out the mermaid’s famous blue eyes and red hair for the features of Black actress Halle Bailey.

“Mermaids were Black. Ancient stories, religious beliefs about merpeople; it’s not a European invention.”

Of note: The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture announced it will debut the exhibition, “Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures.” 

One of the highlights will be the Black Panther costume worn by Boseman.

Go deeper: Afrofuturism: The rise of Black science fiction and fantasy

Editor's note: This story has been updated with box office figures released Sunday.

"Wakanda Forever" reimagines an untold future

The long-awaited sequel is expected to make a big splash.

Photo Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photos: Jesse Holland, Sheree Renee Thomas

Afrofuturism

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"Wakanda Forever" reimagines an untold future