Black Panther 2, officially titled Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, has started production.
Kevin Feige confirmed the news to Variety, and spoke about the sequel ahead of a Black Widow fan event. "It's clearly very emotional without Chad [Chadwick Boseman]," he said. "But everyone is also very excited to bring the world of Wakanda back to the public and back to the fans. We're going to do it in a way that would make Chad proud." Boseman, who played the title role of T'Challa in the MCU, passed away last year.
Feige also said that the original cast would be back. Though he didn't confirm specifics, that probably means we'll be seeing the return of Letitia Wright as Shuri, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi, Winston Duke as M'Baku, and Martin Freeman as Everett Ross.
What's less clear, though, is whether Michael B. Jordan will be back as Erik Killmonger. The character died at the end of Black Panther – and Jordan himself even put his odds of returning at 2 out of 10 – but that hasn't stopped the theories from flourishing, and with how technologically advanced Wakanda is, it wouldn't be that weird if Killmonger did make a reappearance in some form.
Another popular fan theory is that Shuri will be taking over the mantle of Black Panther in the sequel, which was seemingly bolstered by the fact that an MCU book revealed Shuri is studying the Heart-Shaped Herb that gives the Black Panther their powers.
Freeman recently talked more about the sequel, explaining his thoughts on the plot without spoiling any specifics: "Some of it was really – some of it's very odd, and I think [writer/director Ryan Coogler] could see by the reaction on my face some of the things he was saying… He kept sort of stopping, and going... He kept on saying, 'Stay with me, but this is going to work.'"
Alongside the sequel, Okoye is also getting her own Disney Plus spinoff, and a Wakanda series from Coogler is also in the works.
We'll have a little while to wait to find out what exactly goes down in Black Panther 2 – the sequel is slated for release July 28, 2022 as part of Marvel Phase 4. Until then, find out how to watch Marvel movies in order to get up to speed on the MCU – and find the best Disney Plus prices and deals.
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