If Marvel Studios issues the green light on Black Panther 2, Kevin Feige wants to secure Ryan Coogler for another trip to Wakanda.
The Fruitvale Station and Creed director has attracted nothing but praise for his nuanced Marvel masterpiece, leading many to conclude that it’s only a matter of time before the Powers That Be order up a Black Panther sequel. There’s been no official announcement from Marvel Studios just yet – unsurprising, really, given both Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp are right around the corner – but during an extensive chat with Variety, Feige was asked if he’d like to see Coogler helm T’Challa’s next solo outing, to which he replied, “absolutely.”
We always say we work on one movie at a time. If you have any good ideas, put it in the movie you’re making. If you don’t, you might not be able to make another one. That said, Panther has been around for more than half a century in the comic books and there are many, many stories to tell.
Indeed there are. Ryan Coogler seems to have developed a good rapport with Chadwick Boseman, too – not unlike the Patty Jenkins/Gal Gadot dynamic that launched Wonder Woman into the stratosphere last summer – so we imagine it’s a question of when, rather than if, Black Panther gets the sequel treatment.
Our very own Matt Donato was certainly a fan of Coogler’s direction, writing that Black Panther “proves how representation can rejuvenate even the oldest superhero origin arcs, allowing Marvel a victory that still feels every bit a Ryan Coogler film.”
And it all kicks off tomorrow, February 16th. Indeed, such is the excitement surrounding Black Panther that box office projections have been all over the shop, with some analysts predicting anywhere between $150m-$180m across its four-day debut. Remember, Monday is President’s Day in the States, and an extended weekend will only work in T’Challa’s favor.
