Shooting on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Panther 2 is set to begin in less than six months, and it’s going to be a hugely emotional experience for the cast and crew as they look to move forward on the franchise without leading man Chadwick Boseman, who anchored the massively successful and important blockbuster with his regal performance as T’Challa.
Ryan Coogler will be determined to both further the story of Wakanda within the context of the MCU, while still paying tribute to the monumental legacy that Boseman left behind. Even without the production being plagued by the most tragic of circumstances, the pressure was already well and truly on for Black Panther 2Â to live up to the expectations that come with being the sequel to the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, not to mention the entire franchise’s highest-grossing installment that isn’t an Avengers epic.
So far, the only new addition confirmed for the cast is Narcos: Mexico star Tenoch Huerta as a mystery villain, but Michael B. Jordan has found himself frequently linked with a return as Killmonger, despite meeting his apparent demise at the end of the first movie. And in a recent interview, the 33 year-old admitted that he’ll never definitively rule out a comeback given what Black Panther means to him personally and professionally.
“That’s something that is very, very near and dear to my heart for a lot of obvious reasons. I had a really tough year losing somebody close to me. And what that means for that franchise is it was devastating. But being in that world in a character that I loved playing, and working with Ryan Coogler and all that good stuff, it’s family. We created a family over there. So to be able to be in that world again is something that, I think, will always be on the table in some capacity.”
Jordan will be back as Killmonger in upcoming Disney Plus animation What If…?, but there’s no guarantees he’ll appear in Black Panther II as of yet, especially when there’s been plenty of speculation making the rounds that the increasingly busy actor and producer could be suiting up for the DCEU at some point.
