"We can come together and be together": Fans show out for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiere in Sacramento
SACRAMENTO — Wakanda came to Natomas Thursday night for the premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Regal Natomas certainly looked like a celebration for the stars with the red carpet leading up to the theater. There was even a limo pulling up with local performers dressed like they just stepped off the plane from Wakanda.
There is so much celebration for the first Marvel Studios film series with a Black director and a predominantly Black cast.
There's nothing like a drumline to get the crowd pumped. But this is more than just pomp and circumstance. It's pride on the opening night of the Black Panther sequel.
"This means a lot that we have a film that's representing the African American culture in the way it does, just from where we come from as royalty," said Naimah Moon of the Sojourner Truth Museum.
Sequette Clark — or Mama Clark — with the I Am Sac foundation said it's more than a movie premiere but a community coming together.
"It's a sense of belonging. It's a sense of normalcy. With all the gun violence, with all the things going on today, we have something to look forward to where we can come together and be together," Clark said.
That sense of community hits home for Sacramento. The movie's director, Ryan Coogler, grew up in Northern California and attended Sacramento State. His vision of Wakanda royalty hit the red carpet, bringing a sense of honor and self-esteem.
"If you don't have that love for yourself, or have that identity or history of who you are, you're pretty much lost," Moon said.
Ryan cooler was one of the first Black directors to make a $1 billion-grossing movie with the first Black Panther movie. That one made more than $202 million during its domestic opening in 2018 — and it's expected to rake in that much again.
"With Black Panther, [they] give you the Black superhero, give you someone of moral character and strengh, community and family. Back people are getting together and building and that's important for Black people to see," moviegoer Joshua Robinson said.