When Chadwick Boseman said “Wakanda Forever,” he meant it. TheBlack Pantherfranchise moves forward, as Ryan Coogler officially signs on to write and direct the sequel to his 2018 film.
Thanks to the film’s huge, billion-dollar success at the box office, it was only a matter of time before Marvel closed a deal on its next Black Panther film. The story of T’Challa continues, though his fate following Thanos’ big snap remains unclear.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Coogler plans to begin writing the new script next year, and aims to start production by late 2019 or early 2020.
This news breaks as Disney and Marvel are working on a serious Oscar campaign for Black Panther. Disney shared its For Your Consideration last month, asking the Academy to consider the film for basically every award, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Boseman.
Since it’s still in pre-development, and because the fate of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is pretty uncertain right now, it’s hard to say what T’Challa will be up to in the sequel. Many have hoped Letitia Wright might become the next Black Panther in T’Challa’s absence through her role as his whiz kid sister Shuri. We’ll have to wait until Avengers 4comes out in May to get a better look at how this all might play out.
Black Panther 2 is hardly Coogler’s only major motion picture underway. He’s currently developing the drama Wrong Answer with his BFF Michael B. Jordan, and serving as executive producer on LeBron James’ Space Jam sequel.
