Where The Wakandans Send T'Challa's Body In Black Panther 2's Funeral Scene
Contains spoilers for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"
As superhero movies go, there are few that open in a more heartbreaking fashion than "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." The tragic death of "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman in 2020 and the subsequent decision against recasting mean that King T'Challa's time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes to a close as he dies offscreen in the early minutes of the sequel. "Wakanda Forever" may not explain how T'Challa passes away, but it makes extremely clear that he's sorely missed. Before the movie's title screen, the viewers are treated to a lengthy sequence that shows the population of Wakanda gathered in a sad funeral progression that nevertheless celebrates the lifetime of their king.
The impressive scene ends when the royal family's airship beams T'Challa's casket up, and everyone gives a heartfelt "Wakanda Forever" salute as it rises up in the sky. This, it appears, is where King T'Challa's MCU journey ends, since the movie doesn't really dwell on what happens to his body after this moment. Let's take a look at where the Wakandans likely send T'Challa's body in "Wakanda Forever's" funeral scene.
The Wakandan City of the Dead is an ancient place with deep ties to Black Panther lore
Wakanda's City of the Dead plays a prominent role in "Black Panther," though it's depicted as less of a burial ground and more of a ceremonial area. This is where the original Heart-Shaped Herb garden grows before Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) destroyed the remaining crop, and this is where Black Panthers embark on the ancestral plane as they ingest the herb and meet familial spirits. Of course, the place is still called "The City of the Dead" and full of former Black Panthers' helms, so it's quite obviously also a burial ground. In the comics, the location's full meaning is made even clearer. The comics version of the City of the Dead is usually known as the Necropolis, and it's explicitly stated to be the official burial ground for Black Panthers throughout history.
Since current Black Panther Shuri (Letitia Wright) steers clear of spiritual matters for much of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," it's easy to forget that the high-tech Wakanda even has a place like this. However, since her mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), very much embraces tradition, it's quite likely that T'Challa's casket is headed in the City of the Dead.
Of course, it's worth noting that the place received extensive fire damage when Killmonger burned down the country's Heart-Shaped Herb stash. As such, it's possible that the City of the Dead is still under renovation, which may be why the movie didn't explicitly show T'Challa being laid to rest there. Besides, the whole "casket rises up" thing is a pretty eye-catching way to introduce the royal airship's tractor beam, which plays an important role later in the movie.
The comics version of the City of the Dead is a key location for many stories
Another reason why "Wakanda Forever" doesn't touch the subject of T'Challa's final resting place may be practical in a way that has nothing to do with fire damage. For people who are familiar with the comics, it could be jarring to see T'Challa buried in the Necropolis, since the comics version of the character is still very much around — and has been known to actually rule the place. In the comics, Wakanda's preferred deity Bast named T'Challa the King of the Dead, which effectively gave him dominion over Wakanda's Necropolis, as well as the combined powers of every Black Panther in history.
If that's not impressive enough, the Necropolis has also served as the headquarters for the Illuminati — a supergroup that made its alternate-universe MCU debut in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" — as well as the Cabal, a villain group that counts both Namor (Tenoch Huerta in the MCU) and Thanos (Josh Brolin) in its ranks. With all these untold stories and the fate of T'Challa's casket quite literally up in the air, who knows what adventures await young Toussaint (Divine Love Konadu-Sun) when he comes of age and arrives in Wakanda to embrace his destiny?
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is now in theaters.