It’s been a truly incredible year at the box office for the highest grossing film franchise of all-time, which you may know better as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 2018 saw Avengers: Infinity War become only the fourth motion picture ever to conquer the $2 billion plateau, while Ant-Man and the Wasp made a healthy profit for the studio, too.
And then, of course, there was Black Panther, which surpassed $700 million at the domestic box office, making the Ryan Coogler-directed feature the third movie ever to top that mark, behind only Avatar ($760M) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($936M). And with a massive $1.34 billion global haul under its belt, it’s perhaps no surprise that T’Challa is getting another solo outing.
Yes, despite being turned to dust at the end of Infinity War, the ruler of Wakanda will somehow return to life in time for next year’s Avengers 4 as well as his very own sequel, Black Panther 2. The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Marvel’s now firing up production on the pic and Ryan Coogler has closed a deal to return to write and direct it.
From what we understand, the filmmaker will begin penning the script next year with the sequel heading in front of cameras in either late 2019 or perhaps early 2020. At least, that’s the current plan, but given that we don’t know too much about Phase 4 just yet, things can always change.
Still, it’s hugely exciting to learn that Black Panther 2 is now official, and that Coogler will be back to oversee things. Not that anyone thought he’d move on, mind you, but it’s always nice to receive confirmation. And as soon as we hear anything further, such as plot details or casting, we’ll be sure to let you know. Until then, though, feel free to head on down to the comments section and speculate on how T’Challa may return to the land of the living in Avengers 4.