The long game for the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always been to replace the vast majority of their marquee superheroes with new faces, as Phase Four continues to mark the end for the original Avengers. Sam Wilson, Yelena Belova, Kate Bishop, Jennifer Walters and Jane Foster are all set to inherit the mantles of Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk and Thor, respectively, on both the big screen and on Disney Plus, with Iron Man the only Phase One stalwart who doesn’t have a successor lined up yet.
This even extends to some of the MCU’s recent debutants, as we learned last year that Shuri was being groomed to succeed her elder brother T’Challa as Black Panther at some point in the future. And following the tragic and unexpected passing of Chadwick Boseman, the cast and crew of the movie will now be more determined than ever to deliver something that can live up to the monumental legacy of one of the most important and influential blockbusters of the 21st Century.
There will likely be a delay to Black Panther 2‘s May 2022 release date as Boseman’s friends, peers and collaborators come to terms with his passing at the age of just 43, but we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones that told us Ben Affleck would be returning as Batman in The Flash and that a She-Hulk show is coming to Disney Plus, both of which were correct – that Marvel still want to proceed with the second installment as a tribute to the leading man’s legacy, and the film will see Shuri become Wakanda’s permanent protector and assume the mantle. At least, that’s the plan right now.
According to our intel, the hope is for the Black Panther sequel to maintain the delicate balance between furthering the story and continuing the cultural impact and influence of the character’s first outing, while also making sure that it lives up to and pays fitting respect to Chadwick Boseman’s iconic performance as T’Challa.
