We’ve still got a whole lot of time to find out what Marvel has planned for Black Panther 2, as fans were quick to notice that the highly-anticipated sequel was left out of the studio’s Phase 4 slate at San Diego Comic-Con, but given that Ryan Coogler’s first film made $1.3 billion worldwide, a return to Wakanda’s pretty much guaranteed. And apparently when it happens, Martin Freeman’s CIA agent Everett Ross will be tagging along again for the ride.
In a recent interview with Collider for the upcoming film Ode to Joy, Freeman was asked if he’d be returning for any MCU movies in the future, and the actor singled out the currently in pre-production sequel, saying:
“As far as I know, I will be [returning],” he said. “As far as I know, I will be in another Black Panther. That’s my understanding. As to when that will happen, I don’t know.”
With speculation and rumors over exactly which villain T’Challa and company will be facing off against – with the competition reportedly narrowing down between Dwayne Johnson and Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding for Namor – the only few confirmed facts about the cast are veterans like Freeman. Most notably, Danai Gurira announced that she’ll be returning as T’Challa’s vicious general Okoye, too.
With that said, Marvel fans are keeping their hopes up for D23 next weekend to provide some more details. As it stands right now, that could possibly be when we get our release dates for Phase 5 pics, including Black Panther 2, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and possibly even Captain Marvel 2. And given the outstanding amount of content that was announced at SDCC, we’ll probably get our hands on a couple of brand new, unannounced projects as well, so stay tuned.