Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Lupita Nyong’o recently explained why Toussaint/T’Challa II (Divine Love Konadu-Sun) is a worthy successor to his late father, King T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman).
Nyong’o, who plays Toussaint’s mother Nakia, outlined the reason why the young prince is fit to one day sit on Wakanda’s throne in an interview with IGN. “Nakia is uniquely placed to show him the ways, because she is his link to his father, and they’ve chosen to raise their son in the outside world,” she said. “And so, that vision of a Wakanda that is open to the outside world is what he’s uniquely poised to assume — you know, the Wakanda of tomorrow, not the Wakanda of yesterday.”
Toussaint made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut during Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s mid-credits scene. Here, it’s revealed that Nakia was raising her and T’Challa’s son in secret in Haiti. Toussaint was originally set to appear much earlier in the movie, in a scene that would’ve shown him meet his grandmother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett). Bassett spoke warmly of her experience acting opposite Konadu-Sun in a recent interview, while also making it clear she agreed with director Ryan Coogler’s decision to cut the scene. “[The Ramonda/Toussaint scene] wound up on the cutting room floor… to make [Toussaint’s reveal] a surprise for the audience and to Shuri. It was the right way to go. Perfect to go about it,” she said.
Black Panther 2 Cast and Crew Discuss the Mid-Credits Scene
This wasn’t the only time that Toussaint’s MCU introduction was reshaped, either. According to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever editor Michael P. Shawver, the meeting between the young prince and his aunt, Shuri (Letitia Wright), was originally intended to serve as the ending of the movie proper. Things changed once Shawver, Coogler and co-editors Kelley Dixon and Jennifer Lame reviewed this cut of the second Black Panther installment and decided the Toussaint/Shuri scene played better mid-way through the credits. “We realized that it was sort of stepping on Shuri’s journey, that twist was taking center stage when it shouldn’t, when it needed to be her, Shawver said.
Wright has since opened up about her own reaction to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s mid-credits scene. Notably, the star said that the scene struck a chord with her due to the way it touched on the legacy of Boseman and the T’Challa character.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently streaming on Disney+.
