In Wakanda Forever, Nakia explains that she left Wakanda because she was overwhelmed with grief and because she wanted to raise her son the way she and T’Challa had planned.
Wakanda Forever is the most recent release in the Black Panther franchise, which proved to be incredibly successful soon after its release.
One of the parts of the film that fans really appreciated was the explanation for why Nakia left Wakanda and was absent from the Infinity War and Endgame films.
In this recent film, she explains that she just could not continue to live in the Kingdom after T’Challa’s death and that she also had their son to think about.
All about Wakanda Forever
The second Black Panther film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, was released by Marvel Studios on 11 November 2022.
The film focuses on Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye, and the Dora Milaje as they continue to fight to protect Wakanda from external forces after King T’Challa’s death.
Although this film had a definite air of sadness as the franchise continues without its previous lead, Chadwick Boseman, fans showed up in hoards to support the cast and crewâs efforts. The trailer of the film alone reached 172 million views in just 24 hours.
Fortunately, even with the high expectations before Wakanda Foreverâs debut, the film did not disappoint and made $180 million in North America in its opening weekend alone.
Wakanda Forever: Why did Nakia leave Wakanda?
One of the best parts of the new Wakanda Forever film is that Marvel fans finally get an answer for why Nakia was absent from the Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame films.
Nakia was an integral part of the original Black Panther film, as she is not only one of the most powerful warriors in Wakanda, but she was also TâChallaâs love interest in the first film, but then just vanished in the following Avengers films.
In Wakanda Forever, it is revealed that Nakia, who is portrayed by Lupita Nyong’o, left Wakanda without an explanation six years before the beginning of the film because she was too distraught to continue living in the kingdom after TâChallaâs death.
She moved to Haiti, where she became the directress of a school, but later, in the end-credits of the film, it is clear that she would not have been able to partake in the fight against Thanos in the Avengers films, because she was already pregnant with TâChallaâs son at the time.
Ryan Coogler, the director of the film, has been praised for the way that he seamlessly used Nakiaâs character arc to provide an adequate explanation for why she was absent in the other films, while simultaneously paying tribute to Chadwick Boseman and setting up a way for the Black Panther legacy to continue in the future.
Why could Nakia not continue living in Wakanda?
It is evident in Wakanda Forever that the entire kingdom mourned the loss of their ruler and beloved king. However, to Nakia, TâChalla was much more than just a king.
The two had fought together for many years, but even more than that, they were very much in love, even before the events of Infinity War and Endgame.
She explains in the film that with all of this grief, she just could not stand to continue living in the kingdom without their ruler. She decided that it was better for her to continue spreading TâChallaâs vision for the future to and in the rest of the world.
About Nakia and TâChallaâs son
As with many of the Marvel films, one of the biggest bombshells in this movie happens in the end-credit scene, where Nakia reveals that she and TâChalla had a son that they named Toussaint, before TâChalla passed away.
She also tells Shuri that they had decided to raise Toussaint outside of Wakanda so that he could experience what the world was like outside of the kingdom.
Toussaintâs Wakandan name is also TâChalla, which means that he will grow up to become the next Black Panther.
How is this film a tribute to Chadwick Boseman and TâChalla?
There are many aspects of the Wakanda Forever film that pay homage to Chadwick Bosemanâs Black Panther.
And although the studioâs decision not to recast him in this film initially shocked many fans of the franchise, the way that the story was handled allows Chadwickâs legacy to live on with his son fated as the next Black Panther, but also just as an important part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, overall.
Fans are also holding out hope that Marvel will release a special Black Panther comic line featuring Chadwickâs character during the events of the Infinity War and Endgame films.