Any and all talk surrounding the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Panther 2 will always be tinged with sadness following the death of star Chadwick Boseman, but the best thing the studio could do is ensure that the sequel manages to both live up to the precedent set by the groundbreaking original and honor the legacy of the actor who took center stage.
We still don’t know at this point if Ryan Coogler’s follow-up will be delayed from the originally announced May 2022 release date, but with shooting scheduled to kick off in March, you couldn’t begrudge the cast and crew for wanting to halt proceedings so that they’ve got time to take stock and process the tragic circumstances of the situation.
As far as plot details go, Namor has frequently been finding himself linked to the role of Black Panther 2‘s big bad, and casting calls seem to have hinted as much. However, we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones that told us Taskmaster would be the villain in Black Widow and that a She-Hulk show was in the works for Disney Plus – that there could be up to four antagonists in the blockbuster sequel.
According to our intel, the plan for right now is to have Namor as the movie’s major villain, but Doctor Doom is also said to have a small role to establish him as a significant threat in the future, something that has previously been rumored. Not only that, but Zemo will also reportedly factor into the story, which makes narrative sense given his return in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Bucky’s connections to Wakanda, while Hunter the White Wolf will follow in the footsteps of M’Baku and Killmonger as a homegrown adversary.
Hunter, in particular, would be an interesting addition given that the character is white and was adopted into the Wakandan royal family after his parents were killed, before being named as the leader of the nation’s secret police and ultimately becoming a mercenary for hire with his eyes set on the throne. Admittedly, that sounds a little too similar to Killmonger’s arc, but Marvel are well known for putting their own spin on established comic book characters and we’re sure that they’ll cook up something interesting here.
