Synopsis:

BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER is a light edit. We see more of King T'Chaka and his brother early on, establishing the old king as a less idealized character. A glimpse of young T’Challa as contrast to Erik’s childhood. The weakest CGI shots are trimmed from the rhinos in battle and the climax in the mine. T'Challa at the United Nations is extended and placed before his trip to Oakland, giving it the weight it deserves.

Intentions:

Watching this in the cinema, I got pulled out of the film by the distracting transition from Black Panther the movie to Black Panther the video game with the poor CGI during the rhinos in battle and the final battle in the mine. It bothered me more, knowing that they could have done it better. This is 2018 and Marvel / Disney / Lucasfilm have amazingly talented people. - Remove bad CGI: several small trims in final cave fight. I love the deleted scene of young T'Challa telling his dad he'll protect him when he grows up. It fits perfectly after we see (then not yet named) Erik left behind in Oakland. That contrast is made all the more powerful by showing dad killing his brother then instead of later via flashback. The UN scene at the end closes with a question to T'Challa how Wakanda will make a difference. We, the audience, see his answer in Oakland. By moving the UN scene from mid-credits to before Oakland, it flows more logically and we get the question before the answer.

Change List:

1) Trim visually distracting shots because they pull me out of the movie. Several CGI shots look like we switched from the film to a computer game. I find that terribly distracting. Trimming these requires only minimal cuts. - Cut most of T'Challa's flashback from Cap3 (redundant and distracting visual filter). - Remove bad CGI: small trim to rhinos in battle. - Remove bad CGI: several small trims in final cave fight. 2) Raise the emotional stakes at the start. - Integrate part of flashback of T'Chaka killing his brother into beginning. Cut part of later Zuri exposition to T'Challa accordingly. - Insert deleted scene before Marvel logo: young T'Challa talks with dad. Having these scenes back to back, as they would have been intended, works really well. We get young Erik left behind alone in Oakland contrasted with young T'Challa raised lovingly in safe and comfortable Wakanda. 3) Bring more gravitas to the ending. - Insert deleted scene: part of T'Challa - Ross conversation at UN (it includes this edit's tagline). - Move UN before Oakland scene. No mid-credit scene. 4) Minor pacing tweak: - Small trim in Ross wake-up dialog with Shuri.

Additional Notes:

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