With all of the production stories that have come out about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, fans have been concerned about what the final product will be.

This is not even mentioning the fact that Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020, will be a huge missing piece from the film. But Angela Bassett has said in a recent interview that the sequel will be even greater than the first.

Bassett said while on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Monday that the Black Panther sequel will be spectacular for fans.

“It’s going to be amazing. It’s going to top [the first] one. Can I say that?” she said.

Bassett also described director Ryan Coogler as “the perfect leader” and added that Boseman’s presence still has an impact on the film.

“He was such an example, such a leader, an amazing talent–we all know that,” she said about Boseman. “Big heart, great intellect, and we just hope to raise his standard.”

 

You can see the full interview below.

Production on the sequel has seemed very concerning for fans, particularly when it came to COVID-19 drama surrounding Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri in the franchise. However, the cast as a whole has maintained that the sequel will honor Boseman’s memory.

Cast and crew have also talked at length about Boseman’s impact on their lives. Coogler, for instance, wrote a tribute to Boseman in 2020, calling him an “ancestor.”

“[I]t is with a heavy heart and a sense of deep gratitude to have ever been in his presence, that I have to reckon with the fact that Chad is an ancestor now,” he wrote. “And I know that he will watch over us, until we meet again.”