Potential SPOILERS for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to follow...

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Winston Duke has teased a change in his fan-favorite character, M’Baku, when he returns in the highly anticipated sequel. In an interview with ScreenRant, Duke was asked how M’Baku has responded to the world-altering events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, with the actor revealing that Wakanda’s mountain tribe, the Jabari, has now fully merged with the wider nation.

"I think the events of Infinity War and Endgame really showed that the Jabari are now full-fledged members of Wakanda. M'Baku was a part of every single conflict; every event, and I don't think they could really exist in isolation anymore. They have open borders, and we saw that M'Baku was really Wakandan. His entire community has expanded.”

As well as no longer being an isolated kingdom as they were in the first Black Panther adventure, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will find M’Baku struggling with how best to “move forward” in this brand-new world — particularly in relation to losing king T’Challa, the character played by the late Chadwick Boseman.

“Now we get to see how he figures out a brand-new world for Wakanda; a brand-new world like we've had to experience. A world post-COVID; a world post-pandemic or mid-pandemic. Much like us, he's going through a lot of the same things and figuring out how to move forward. This movie really deals and dives into that a lot.”

So, according to Winston Duke, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will reflect the real world in more ways than one. Not only will the storyline incorporate the tragic loss of action Chadwick Boseman, but Duke also reveals that the idea of M’Baku facing a new world will mirror the experiences of all of us during recent events.

Will M’Baku Become the New Black Panther?

With T’Challa gone, Marvel fans have been left wondering who will pick up the mantle of Black Panther. While many believe that it will Letitia Wright’s Shuri, there are those who hope to see Winson Duke’s M’Baku don the vibranium suit.

A recent leak has claimed that – SPOILER WARNING - it will indeed be Shuri who takes over from her brother as the new Black Panther, but M’Baku has not been forgotten, with the warrior and ruler of the mountain tribe allegedly becoming the new king of Wakanda by the movie’s end. A role that should see the character play a major part in the MCU going forward.

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finds the leaders of the kingdom of Wakanda fighting to protect their nation from invading forces in the wake of King T'Challa's death. Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje must come together to fight to protect their nation from a mysterious threat from beneath the sea.

Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Tenoch Huerta, and Dominique Thorne, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is scheduled to be released on November 11, 2022, and will be the final installment in Phase Four of the MCU.