Black Panther was released in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim. While there were some complaints about the expected CG-heavy final battle, the movie itself respected and celebrated African culture and inspired countless people worldwide.
T'Challa actor Chadwick Boseman died in 2020 following a hard-fought battle with cancer. The actor's passing sent shockwaves through Hollywood, forcing Marvel Studios to return to the drawing board with its planned Black Panther sequel.
The idea had been for it to deal with the fallout from Avengers: Endgame, with T'Challa returning from the "Blip" to learn his son had been born while he was among the dead. From there, we'd have followed the hero getting to know his child while likely doing battle with Namor the Submariner.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever instead dealt with the fallout from the hero's demise in-universe and followed Shuri as she inherited the Black Panther mantle.
While Letitia Wright is confirmed to reprise the role in Avengers: Doomsday, the expectation is that we'll eventually get a new Black Panther (either a Multiversal Variant or an aged-up Toussaint).
Ryan Coogler will return as Black Panther 3's director, and Denzel Washington has confirmed he'll star in the threequel. Now, scooper Daniel Richtman brings word that the movie is targeting a February 2028 release in theaters.
That means it will be part of the "Mutant Saga" - or whatever else follows the "Multiverse Saga" - and likely one of the movies meant to set the tone for an MCU likely to be softly rebooted after Avengers: Secret Wars.
This Black Panther 3 release window isn't confirmed, so is best taken with a pinch of salt for now.
"We are still figuring out again exactly what [the next] Avengers is going to be, so we haven't had any real story conversations," executive producer Nate Moore said while addressing the many Black Panther 3 rumours doing the rounds online. "I know there's been a lot of chatter online about casting and villains. None of that's true. We just haven't gotten there yet, to be honest, but I am very excited to start those conversations hopefully this year."
"We don't know what the story is, so I couldn't tell you whether or not we're open to recasting," he continued. "It certainly wasn't our instinct for Wakanda Forever. I'll never say never to anything, but it's too early to talk about any of that stuff. We have to figure out what the story's going to be."
What are you hoping to see from Marvel Studios' Black Panther 3?