When Black Panther finally hit theaters in February 2018, it had been a long time coming. There had been plans to bring Marvel’s Wakandan monarch to the big screen for decades, with Wesley Snipes even buying the rights to try and get the movie made in the 90s. When the MCU blockbuster finally landed, it became nothing short of a cultural phenomenon, dominating the conversation for months on the way to making over $1.3 billion at the box office and becoming the first comic book film to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The success of Black Panther instantly established the title character as one of the MCU’s marquee superheroes going forward, but it wouldn’t be unfair to say that Marvel Studios haven’t fully capitalized on that momentum. The double-header of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame didn’t really give T’Challa much to do, with star Chadwick Boseman only appearing for a handful of scenes across both films. Obviously, there were a huge number of moving parts throughout each effort, but with his solo pic still right at the forefront of the public consciousness, surely there was more they could have done with him.
The sequel isn’t due until 2022, and will no doubt have to pick up the pieces of what happens in the MCU before then. We don’t know any plot specifics as of yet, but if the latest intel from our sources is to be believed, it seems as though Boseman is not best pleased with the planned creative direction for the follow-up. And before we dive into it, bear in mind that these are the same sources that told us that National Treasure 3 was in development last year, and that Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk shows were in the works for Disney Plus well before they were announced, so we’ve no reason to doubt them.
As has been reported for a while now, the plan is for the Black Panther movies to eventually pass the mantle over to Shuri, which has previously happened in the comic books. And while it makes sense to do so, Boseman is said to be pretty unhappy about it, which is completely understandable, as getting replaced as the lead in a multi-billion dollar franchise isn’t an ideal scenario for any actor. And while he’s not exactly at the point where he’s going to just walk away from the role, sources say that the star feels like he’s being sidelined and doesn’t want the title taken from him.
Despite this, Marvel still intends for T’Challa to pass the mantle at some point (as they’re really pushing for more prominent females on their roster of heroes) and as for Boseman, well, he’ll likely stick around for another film or two, with the actor already locked in for the sequel to his 2018 solo outing and expected to return for Avengers 5 (AKA New Avengers), too. But after that, it sounds like he’ll slowly be phased out of the franchise as Shuri becomes the MCU’s new Black Panther.
