‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ to resume production in Atlanta next week after COVID, injury delays

Key actress Letitia Wright has recovered from a serious injury last summer
Letitia Wright’s Shuri appeared in “Avengers: Infinity War” and will return in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." Photo by Matt Kennedy/Disney/Marvel Studios

Letitia Wright’s Shuri appeared in “Avengers: Infinity War” and will return in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." Photo by Matt Kennedy/Disney/Marvel Studios

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which shot for several months last year in metro Atlanta, will be back later this monte, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Letitia Wright, who plays the lead character of the sequel, Shuri, has recovered from a fractured shoulder and concussion last August while shooting a stunt in Boston. Production, which began in Georgia in late June, stopped in late November after the film shot as much as it could without Wright, who spent the past few months recuperating in London.

Production, which has been done in part at Tyler Perry Studios, was supposed to return last Monday but was postponed after cast and crew, including key actress Lupita Nyong’o, tested positive for COVID-19, the Hollywood Reporter said. The film is now set to return to production next week and is scheduled to shoot four more weeks, the publication said, citing unnamed sources.

A bulk of the original cast from the 2018 hit film will be back without lead actor Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer in 2020. The film had to be rejiggered without him.

Other cast members in the sequel include Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba and Angela Bassett. Ryan Coogler is back to direct.

Coogler and Marvel are also working on a Disney+ spinoff set in Wakanda that will feature Gurira, who was a breakout star on “The Walking Dead” a decade ago as Michonne.

Besides shooting in the Boston area, the film also produced night scenes on the water in Brunswick, Georgia.

The current release date in theaters for the film remains Nov. 22, 2022. Last October, the film was pushed back from a July 8 release date.