Production on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was a little chaotic, with the pandemic and a nasty injury sustained by star Letitia Wright causing a number of delays. The sequel eventually finished shooting, though, and arrived in theaters last November to positive reviews and a big opening weekend.
Like every other MCU movie, the sequel underwent reshoots. As of right now, we aren't sure how much those changed the Black Panther follow-up, but additional photography has become a normal part of Marvel Studios' approach to storytelling.
With so much chatter surrounding Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's impending Disney+ debut, some set photos from the movie have resurfaced showing Martin Freeman on set as Everett Ross. However, the British actor looks vastly different to the Ross we followed in the sequel's worst subplot.
We've looked at Freeman's recent and upcoming projects, and he doesn't look like this in any of them. Considering the fact he was photographed on set in August 2021, it's highly unlikely he was working on Secret Invasion as that was shot primarily in London in 2022.
With that in mind, we're going to go ahead and assume Ross' story arc - which mostly focused on the fact he used to be married to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine - was entirely the result of reshoots.
We can't think of any other explanation for why his beard vanished, and prior to shooting, Freeman teased a very unexpected role for Ross in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Explaining that director Ryan Coogler had taken him through his character's part in the script, he admitted that "some of it was very odd," and there was nothing in the sequel we'd say fit that description.
Here's hoping we learn more about original plans for Ross in the not-too-distant future!
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