‘Wakanda Forever’ stars welcome speculation about ‘Black Panther 3’ and beyond

If there’s one thing Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has proved, it’s that the future is not necessarily set in stone when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The sequel started off with Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa in mind as the central focus in its earliest preproduction but quickly pivoted to a loving homage to the character and the man who brought him to life after the actor’s sudden and tragic death from colon cancer in 2020. All of this begs the question: What could be in store for Black Panther 3?

Wakanda Forever stars Winston Duke and Lupita Nyong’o, who play M’Baku and Nakia in the film, respectively, are now teasing the unexpected path a threequel — and any other permutation of the franchise — could take. In part, Duke and Nyong’o indicated in an interview with Digital Spy that they are welcoming and excited about the fan speculation that will surely be generated once audiences see what goes down in Wakanda Forever.

“By the end of the film, no one is going to know where Wakanda could go. I think that’s the whole thing,” Duke said.

Nyong’o added she’s “looking forward to the speculation.” Duke continued,

“Yeah, there’s a lot of speculation. There’s really no way of telling where this franchise is going, because there’s a million twists, there’s a million turns. Every character evolves and changes radically differently along the way. It’s disparate, disparate changes.

“So where Nakia is by the end of the movie, you have no idea what’s going to happen. You have no idea what’s going to happen with M’Baku. You don’t know what’s going to happen with Shuri or anybody. You have no idea.”

Nyong’o went on to describe the uncertainty of the various characters’ outcomes as a “runway to imagine it for yourself” while Duke called the sequel “a really great springboard for the creative process for number three.”

And of course, the story of Wakanda could easily continue on the House Mouse’s streaming service Disney Plus. In fact, the forthcoming show Ironheart is already being set up in Wakanda Forever with the introduction of Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever comes to theaters on Nov. 11.