This is a word, a podcast from Slate, I'm your host, Jason Johnson.

The release of Wakanda Forever marks the return of the Afro-futuristic nation to movie theaters.

Years after Black Panther took superhero storytelling to another level, how can Wakanda Forever

rise to the sky high expectations that we all have?

If the first Black Panther movie felt like a revelation and a kind of like explosion

of Black cultural pride, this movie is going to feel like a reunion and anything.

It's going to feel like, okay, we get to reconvene and explore more collective emotions

together.

The return to Wakanda, coming up on a word, with me, Jason Johnson, stay with us.

This is Jason Johnson.

I want to thank you for listening to a word, especially our Slate Plus subscribers who

support, helps make a word possible.

Slate Plus subscribers enjoy podcasts, ad-free, bonus content, and access to all of Slate's

great reporting on the site.

If you enjoy a word, sign up now at Slate.com slash a word plus thanks again.

Welcome to a word, a podcast about race and politics and everything else.

I'm your host, Jason Johnson.

Much has changed since Black Panther lit up movie screens in 2018, becoming an unprecedented

cultural touchstone and eventually earning more than a billion dollars at the box office.

That film reflected the aspirations of the African diaspora, and proved that there's

an audience hungry for Black superheroes who aren't side-kicks.

Wakanda forever is out in theaters today, telling the story of how that fictional nation

...