Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are still mourning the sudden and shocking loss of Chadwick Boseman, but the studio will soon be forced to make some difficult decisions about the creative direction of Black Panther 2. There might already be a May 2022 release date locked in and pre-production is now underway, but there’s not a single person that would be upset if the sequel was delayed for the foreseeable future.
After all, Boseman was the leading man of the MCU’s biggest box office hit that wasn’t an Avengers movie, one that marked a cultural milestone for blockbuster cinema and inspired a generation in the process. However, director Ryan Coogler and the rest of the returning cast and crew could well decide that the best way to honor the actor’s memory would be to create something that they know he’d be proud of.
The long game for Marvel has always been to have Letitia Wright’s Shuri inherit the mantle of Black Panther from her elder brother, that much we know. Although, this wasn’t expected to happen until the King of Wakanda’s third or fourth solo outing.
Boseman’s passing might accelerate these plans, however, because we’ve now heard from our sources – the same ones who told us Taskmaster would be the villain in Black Widow, Netflix is developing a Witcher prequel and a Ms. Marvel show is coming to Disney Plus, all of which were correct  – that the passing of the torch is likely to happen in Black Panther II if the project moves forward on its current schedule.
According to our intel, the plan right now is to have T’Challa die off-screen and his death addressed in the early stages of the story, with Shuri poised to become her nation’s protector in the film. The former monarch’s shadow will of course loom large over the narrative as Black Panther 2 pays tribute to Boseman’s iconic take on the superhero, while this course of action will also continue his legacy by having another popular character assume the role and lead the franchise into the future.
