Should Disney Build Wakanda?
On August 28, 2020, Chadwick Boseman lost a long but secretive battle with colon cancer. The actor refused to bring attention to his plight, choosing to keep his illness private.
News of his death sent shockwaves across the world, as Boseman has evolved into one of the industry’s most revered actors.
Since the news of Boseman’s deaths, some of his celebrity fans have championed a lovely tribute. Some people want Disney to build a Black Panther ride and/or Wakanda themed land at Disney parks.
Is this idea viable? Let’s look at the pros and cons.
Cons
As an optimist, I like to explore the positives more than the negatives. So, let’s get the cons out of the way first.
Financial Constraints
Boseman’s death likely remained secret due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
When the actor had posted images online or appeared in interviews, some people gave Boseman a hard time about his noticeable weight loss.
Had Boseman been in the public eye more, word would have leaked, or someone would have deduced his illness. The same reason why Boseman could avoid public scrutiny also explains why Disney might not be able to honor him with an attraction or themed land right now.
Disney’s finances have suffered in 2020. Coronavirus-related closures dramatically impacted Disney’s core businesses.
The company may not have the resources to invest in a venture like a Wakanda themed land. Even a Black Panther attraction would challenge Disney, a cash-strapped company.
CEO Bob Chapek has indicated that Disney reduced its theme park expenditures by $700 million.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge cost $1 billion to create. Wakanda would probably require at least half that.
Even a standalone Black Panther ride, at least a decent one, would come with a budget of at least $60 million, possibly double that.
The Risks with Wakanda
Black Panther was unquestionably the touchstone movie event of 2018. The film earned nearly $1.35 billion.
Since then, Wakanda has played heavily in the resolution of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. People love this place right now, but we never know about tomorrow.
There was a time when Twilight was all the rage, and The Hunger Games proved so popular that it’s getting a theme park.
The problem with these ideas is that neither one has sustained its popularity over time. One of the most frequent complaints about Pandora: The World of Avatar fell into this category before the park opened.
Critics claimed that the movies had left no impact on pop culture or society. Of course, the quality of the themed land has altered opinions on the topic.
Would the same happen with Wakanda? I’d say probably yes. Still, I cannot dismiss the argument that pop culture popularity is fickle and mercurial.
Will Black Panther 2 prove as the popular the last film? Nobody could possibly answer that at the moment. So, Wakanda would come with some risks.
Avengers Campus/Legal Issues
Two other potential cons include an inconvenient problem and a potential dealbreaker. Disney has already constructed Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure.
That themed land will debut in a matter of months. So, the company already decided to build a park area with a Marvel focus.
Obviously, this place would qualify as a logical location for a future Black Panther attraction. A complete Wakanda themed land would seem repetitive, though.
Also, the reason why Disney built Avengers Campus in Anaheim involves a weird legal issue at Walt Disney World. Back when Marvel Comics faced bankruptcy, Universal Studios licensed Marvel characters in perpetuity for its theme park.
Some debate has ensued about Disney can and cannot do with Marvel characters at Walt Disney World.
Is Wakanda or a Black Panther ride even possible? Presumably, the answer is yes, as long as Disney and Universal Studios come to terms.
The Marvel themed land at Universal’s Islands of Adventure isn’t very good anyway. And Universal’s owner, Comcast, carries a lot of debt.
So, this sort of modified deal would make sense for both parties.
Pros
Disney had plenty of reasons to build Wakanda even before Boseman’s tragic death.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this hidden civilization possesses advanced technologies that make the place quite beautiful.
Imagineers would have as much fun constructing this place as they did with Star Wars Land and Pandora. Here are some other pros about the idea.
Disney Has Already Plotted a Wakanda Re-Theming
I’ve mentioned this before in some Disney Rumors articles, but here’s a quick refresher.
Imagineers often plan potential attractions and themed lands during the blue sky phase. It’s a purely creative process wherein no constraints like finances are space exist.
Imagineers can simply develop their best ideas, and park strategists pick the best ones to advance to the next stage. It’s here that projects advance or collapse.
Notably, Disney has already prepared some preliminary plans for a Wakanda themed land at Walt Disney World. The most popular version of this plan would involve a re-theming of Africa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
The drawback to this idea is that a seminal attraction, Kilimanjaro Safaris, wouldn’t pair well with an intellectual property-based themed land. Otherwise, the plan brims with possibility. A re-theming of an existing land would save Disney money.
Also – and this one is important – Black Panther the movie is set in Africa. That’s where Wakanda resides, although its technology hides it from the outside world.
So, the idea fits organically with Black Panther’s story. Also…
Wakanda Would Pair Well with Pandora
You may not realize this part, but you time travel whenever you enter Pandora – The World of Avatar.
James Cameron set Avatar, the movie, in 2154. The themed land takes place centuries afterward when humans and Pandoras coexist peacefully.
So, Pandora represents a futuristic society that utilizes advanced technologies. And it’s set against the landscape of a bioluminescent alien world.
Weirdly, Pandora, as a concept, parallels Wakanda. The Marvel society resides in contemporary times, but the technology is light years ahead of the rest of the planet.
Also, Wakanda’s African backdrop includes lush forestry and vegetation, just like on Pandora.
A walking path takes guests from Pandora to Africa and back again. While they’re not close per se, they are connected.
Conveniently, they share stylistic similarities that would blend together so well that I love the idea the more I think about it.
Black Panther and Wakanda Possess Cultural Significance
“Wakanda Forever” has become a rallying cry in society, especially among African Americans.
In recent years, Disney has prioritized cultural diversity, a welcome step toward modernity.
The death of Chadwick Boseman feels like a cruel assault on the purity of Black Panther’s message.
A loving implementation of Wakanda as a themed land would double as a lasting tribute to Boseman and his portrayal of Black Panther.
Fans of the actor and the character could come to Wakanda to celebrate this legacy while enjoying a state-of-the-art themed land.
This aspect is win/win for Disney and its fans alike.
Realistically, financial constraints prevent the immediate construction of a Black Panther ride or a Wakanda themed land.
However, nothing prevents Disney from announcing this project quickly in anticipation of its arrival in a few years. It’d generate a lot of positive press, too.
Should Disney build Wakanda? I vote yes! Obviously, it wouldn’t happen for a while, though.