Digital Domain Brings Water, Fire and New MCU Characters to the Climactic Battle in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'
Brie Clayton December 7, 2022
0 Comments
VFX Work Included an Army of Talokanil, the Introduction of Ironheart, the Midnight Angel Armor and the New Black Panther in Action
In Marvel Studios' latest feature, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, two worlds collide with brutal results. The technologically advanced Wakandans and the fierce warriors of Talokan fight it out on the high seas, while a decisive battle between the new Black Panther and the Talokanil leader, Namor, takes place in the desert. With effects provided by Oscar-winning VFX studio Digital Domain, the pivotal confrontation is the climactic note to one of the most emotionally charged films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and offers a visually spectacular finale unlike any other.
From the moment Marvel Studios approached us about Wakanda Forever, we knew it was going to be a special project, built on emotion as much as visuals, said Hanzhi Tang, Digital Domain VFX supervisor on the film. But it was also an ambitious film that introduced several major characters to the MCU, along with an army of amphibious superpowered warriors. That let us get creative and use everything from our most sophisticated tools to hand-crafted techniques.
The Battle for Wakanda
Digital Domain's work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever focused almost entirely on the film's finale, which begins in the Atlantic Ocean aboard a futuristic Wakandan stealth ship known as the Royal Sea Leopard. To create the ship's deck, the filmmakers utilized an elevated, open-air stage, 60-feet long by 75-feet wide, built on a mechanical rig 20-feet off the ground. The full set was then surrounded by blue screens, leaving the rest of the Vibranium-covered ship, ocean and backgrounds to be created by Digital Domain, using Maya and Houdini.
Throughout the fight, the Talokanil continuously scale the hull while battling the Dora Milaje, which led the filmmakers to build a second, vertical stage covered in handholds for the stunt performers to climb. Digital Domain digitally removed the physical handholds, smoothed out the surface of the ship and replaced the stunt performers' hands with CG versions that appeared flat against the metal. It then animated the hands to include movement. Once on the deck, the Talokanil stunt performers were required to wear shoes for safety reasons, which led artists to replace the footwear with bare CG feet.
To convey the true scope of the fighting, the filmmakers needed to depict an epic battle as the two sides fought to determine the future of the surface world. With a limited number of stunt people available, Digital Domain also created full armies of Wakandans and Talokanil. Using Houdini's crowd system, the VFX team took the live-action footage and dramatically increased the number of participants from 20 stunt performers to hundreds of warriors across the deck and on the hull, and even more in the water.
The fighting continues until a massive underwater explosion - caused by hundreds of Talokanil hydrobombs - rocks the Royal Sea Leopard. That triggered the physical stage to tilt to a 35-degree angle, causing a mixture of real performers and CG digidoubles to fall to the water below. The inclusion of grenades meant to function under water meant Digital Domain had to rethink, and even re-examine the physics of an explosion. The VFX team had to factor in the lack of oxygen, fire and shrapnel, then replace the outward expulsion with an implosion and subsequent shockwave.
Introducing the MCU's Newest Heroes
Along with creating two CG armies, Digital Domain also helped to introduce four new Super Heroes to the MCU, taken directly from the pages of Marvel comics.
During the battle on the seas, a small CG craft appears in the distance, heralding the arrival of Wakanda's newest guardians wearing the Midnight Angel armor. Working from concept art provided by Marvel Studios, Digital Domain went through several iterations of the two armored characters, ensuring that they had a look that was familiar, but also unique. Once the final look and style was determined, the supercharged Dora Milaje veterans Okoye (Danai Guira) and Aneka (Michaela Cole) are introduced in full armor as digidoubles, flying over the water and into battle.
Midnight Angels
The fight on the Royal Sea Leopard also features the introduction of another character that will have a lasting impact on the future of the MCU: Ironheart. Early in the film, audiences are introduced to Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), who acts as a major focal point throughout the film. Her official introduction as Ironheart, however, occurs over the Atlantic Ocean. Building off of 2D artwork from Marvel Studios and a partial practical model built by Legacy Effects, Digital Domain developed the Ironheart armor primarily in Maya, including animations of the character both in the air and underwater.
One of the film's most important moments arrives when Shuri (Letitia Wright) is introduced as the new Black Panther. The reveal happens in the Jabari throne room shortly before the final battle, and features a digidouble of the new Black Panther dropping from a ship high above. Digital Domain then used another digidouble of the character as she runs and jumps on the hull of the Royal Sea Leopard, easily repelling Talokanil attackers.
The Blue Army
Building a Blue Army
Throughout Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the enigmatic Talokanil are seen in two distinctly different environments, with different looks to match. While in their natural environment underwater, they appear no different from the average human, but on the surface they take on a blue coloration. To create this look, the performers wore full-body blue makeup, and recei
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
10/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
10/06/2026
Accedo, Humans not Robots, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) have announced the launch of Ecoflow X. Formerly an IBC Accelerator project, ...
10/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced that James Smith has joined the company as General Manager...
10/06/2026
At the 14th World Live Neurovascular Conference (WLNC) in Lisbon, Riedel Communications provided the communications infrastructure for live medical procedures s...
10/06/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media, and entertainment managed services, today announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform powered by Or...
10/06/2026
Klvr will showcase how venues, integrators and production teams are rethinking disposable battery usage at InfoComm 2026 (Las Vegas, June 17-19, booth #N6311). ...
10/06/2026
The Video Services Forum (VSF) has further enhanced the Reliable Internet Streaming Transport (RIST) protocol by incorporating a new feature, RIST Satellite-Hyb...
10/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/06/2026
Chemists snap together complex 3D molecules from highly reactive radicals-without losing their shape Scripps Research team develops stereoretentive radical-radi...
09/06/2026
Kiswe announces an expanded long-term partnership with ONE Championship (ONE), t...
09/06/2026
SiriusXM will broadcast FOX Sports' English-language commentary for all 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches from June 11 through July 19, available to subscribe...
09/06/2026
EVS has announced it is changing its corporate name from EVS Broadcast Equipment to EVS, reflecting the company's expanded portfolio beyond broadcast equipm...
09/06/2026
Fox Corporation and the NFL have announced a multi-year agreement to bring NFL c...
09/06/2026
FOX Sports and ReachTV, an airport media network, have announced an agreement to...
09/06/2026
Cosm Atlanta, a 70,000-square-foot, three-level immersive entertainment venue located within Centennial Yards adjacent to State Farm Arena and Mercedes-Benz Sta...
09/06/2026
NESN captured five awards at the 2026 Boston/New England Emmy Awards, including four program honors and one individual award.
These awards reflect the passion...
09/06/2026
Ateme has announced that its support for Apple Immersive Video workflows was referenced by Apple during its 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC26).
Atem...
09/06/2026
Bitmovin has announced that Axel Springer SE has deployed Player Web X, Bitmovin's web video player, to power audio readouts of news articles and an audio-o...
09/06/2026
Grass Valley and Lawo have announced a technology collaboration to validate orch...
09/06/2026
LiveU has announced a deployment with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) t...
09/06/2026
Globecast has announced the launch of its Content Exchange platform, powered by ...
09/06/2026
NBC Sports will present live coverage of Overtime's OT7 football league Championship Weekend from Sullivan Field at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angel...
09/06/2026
We're in three different locations, three different production teams. Coveri...
09/06/2026
The intro video for Men's Basketball won Outstanding In-Venue Video in the C...
09/06/2026
Today is match day minus two for FIFA and HBS. On Thursday, there will be two ma...
09/06/2026
Since their debut, the clock-and-score graphic has drawn the affinity and ire of...
09/06/2026
Last month, Spotify hosted PURE FLOWERS LIVE, a special event celebrating the re...
09/06/2026
Last month, RADAR U.K. artist Skye Newman took the stage in East London for a sp...
09/06/2026
Company to cease operating on 30 June 2026
Australian loudspeaker and amplifier manufacturer Wayne Jones Audio have announced that after much consideration,...
09/06/2026
Increases low-end weight and character
The latest plug-in release from Sheffield-based fedDSP aims to offer an all-in-one solution for users in search of mo...
09/06/2026
Introduces AI Studio Assistant, Moises Studio integration & more
Fender Studio have just announced the launch a significant update that brings an array of n...
09/06/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is a statutory body mandated to spearhead the equitable growth and development of the South African film and video...
09/06/2026
The BBC has found its Hercule Poirot.
After Deadline revealed last month that t...
09/06/2026
Media buyers and sellers can now compare YouTube reach from computer, mobile, an...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
A project aimed at modernizing scheduling operations across Mediaset's channel portfolio
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitab...
09/06/2026
tvONE, an ACT Entertainment brand, debuts its most powerful video processor ever built: the 4RU CALICO PRO (C7-PRO-4200), at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N6813). Engine...
09/06/2026
Composer and Conductor Eric Whitacre to Receive Honorary Doctorate at Berklee Va...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/06/2026
Technology collaboration to validate AMPP and Lawo HOME orchestration integration, showcasing Dynamic Media Facility principles in practice.
Grass Valley and ...
09/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced that Axel Springer SE, international media and technology company, has deployed Playe...
09/06/2026
LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video solutions, today announced a landmark deployment with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) that has brought Video ...
Digital Domain Brings Water, Fire and New MCU Characters to the Climactic Battle in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' 
