Is Black Panther 3 Still Happening Or Is Wakanda Not Really Forever?

The Marvel machine continues to roll on without any end in sight, but what about the future for one of its most widely celebrated (and wildly successful) series? As tempting as it was for pundits and fans alike to send the Marvel Cinematic Universe to an early retirement after the conclusion of "Avengers: Endgame" and the definitive ends for longstanding icons like Chris Evans' Steve Rogers and Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark, one major character addition in recent years almost singlehandedly kept audiences invested in whatever's to come next: Chadwick Boseman's portrayal of T'Challa in "Captain America: Civil War" and especially the record-breaking success of 2018's "Black Panther." Tragically, the movie star's far-too-early death cut short a brilliant life and career, while robbing fans of his charismatic performance as the beloved superhero. Still, director Ryan Coogler and the rest of the cast and crew pulled together during this unfathomable time of grief to dedicate the 2022 sequel "Wakanda Forever" in his memory, putting a touching and poignant bow on Boseman's contributions to the franchise.

But after all that, fans inevitably have one question on their minds: Is a "Black Panther 3" still happening? It's been quite some time now since anyone involved in the production spoke on the record about it, which isn't terribly surprising for a studio head as secretive as Kevin Feige has been. But one would naturally assume that a world as fleshed out as Wakanda with an entire cast of three-dimensional supporting characters, several of whom are capable of stepping up into the spotlight, simply has too much potential to throw away ... right? Luckily, we here at /Film are attempting to get to the bottom of this and provide an answer — or, at least, our best guess as to the status of "Black Panther 3."

As disappointing as it may be for fans, there are several valid reasons why updates on a potential "Black Panther" threequel haven't been forthcoming. For one, has any Marvel production been beset by more acts of God than "Wakanda Forever" was? The combination of its leading actor's passing, the subsequent scramble to make adjustments to the script without pushing the release date back, a significant on-set injury, and the arrival of a once-in-a-generation pandemic (not to mention the hesitance of a notable cast member to abide by COVID protections) all joined forces to make the production of the sequel as grueling as it could've possibly been. That's at least one major aspect playing into the uncertainty surrounding the project. The cast and crew, to put it frankly, need a long, long break.

Additionally, there's also the nature of the MCU itself. Despite establishing itself as the dominant blockbuster franchise on the planet, a series of critical and box office disappointments in a row have taken some of the shine off the once-invulnerable studio. By no means has this caused a creative shakeup on par with the rival DC Universe, mind you, but clearly Feige is aware that certain elements haven't been working in their favor and a fresh approach is needed. On top of that, there's also the fact that the MCU has a multitude of new characters and stories remaining on its plate throughout future phases that are already set in stone. Does that solely explain the lack of movement on "Black Panther 3"? Not necessarily, but it certainly factors in.

Finally, there's the timing of it all. "Wakanda Forever" debuted four years after its predecessor and the sequel itself was only released in 2022. Clearly, there's no rush, and rightfully so.

Back in November of 2022, Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige spoke with Variety just before the sequel opened in theaters worldwide. When asked about Coogler's involvement with wherever the franchise may go next, the studio president alluded to "conversations" and that there had been "ideas pitched back and forth" for a third film, but nothing more. As for Coogler himself, he stated, "I can tell you definitively I have no idea what I'm doing next as a writer and director." One member of the team who offered up something a little more concrete, however, was star Letitia Wright. As T'Challa's sister Shuri, the actor stepped up to the leading role in Boseman's absence and did her best to fill the immeasurable hole he left behind. So what did she have to say about "Black Panther 3"? As we previously covered here at /Film, Wright was quoted as saying:

"I think it's already in the works. You know, we just had a terrific two years of bringing it out and everybody coming together to support it. We need a little bit of a break, we need to regroup and [director] Ryan [Coogler] needs to get back into the lab, so it's going to take a little while, but we're really excited for you guys to see that."

However, in an interview with Buzzfeed News, she backtracked a bit:

"What I tried to say, maybe I didn't do it clearly enough, to clarify, there is always the hope that you would have another film, especially in a franchise. If there is to be another film, which I hope there will be, I think there will be; it takes time to make it; you have to go through the script process."

While "Wakanda Forever" brought both Chadwick Boseman's and T'Challa's time in the MCU to a proper close, the ending left quite a few loose ends as to where the franchise could hypothetically go next. Although much of the story involved Shuri taking up the mantle of Black Panther in her brother's absence and learning to become the leader Wakanda needed her to be (and whom the people of the underwater kingdom Talokan, led by Tenoch Huerta's Namor, could fear), the final moments featured Winston Duke's tribal leader M'Baku challenging for the right to lead Wakanda, as Shuri stepped away to focus on more personal matters.

With the super-advanced nation now a focal point in world politics in the MCU and a prime target for other emerging rivals like Talokan, a third film would have plenty of potential and a nearly clean slate of directions it could go in. Would M'Baku become the new king, allowing Shuri the freedom to focus on other matters besides ruling an entire nation and its people? What about Namor and the Talokans, who were defeated in the end — but only temporarily? Namor still has his eyes on the surface world and can certainly rise up again to pose another threat ... or perhaps a potential alliance, depending on how the wind blows. Whatever the exact details of the script, there's no shortage of possibilities for what could happen in the future.

There's something to be said for the fact that, of all Marvel's various ongoing franchises, "Black Panther" is able to boast the deepest roster of supporting characters. That came in handy when "Wakanda Forever" was forced to account for Boseman's passing and allow a greater portion of the spotlight to be shared around a bit. The cast was so jam-packed, in fact, that even a big-name actor like Daniel Kaluuya, who played the traitorous W'Kabi, wasn't able to reprise his original "Black Panther" role in the sequel.

So where does that leave a third "Black Panther" film? Well, it's easy to figure that the core cast will be asked to return for a third go-around. So we can safely expect Shuri, Danai Gurira's Okoye, and M'Baku to stay involved to some extent. The death of Angela Bassett's Queen Ramonda was pretty conclusive, although that didn't stop Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger from returning from the grave one last time to haunt Shuri. The jury's still out on whether certain characters like Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia, who was revealed to be taking care of the son she and T'Challa secretly had, Dominique Thorne's newcomer Riri Williams, or even Namor will have any parts to play. Based on franchise tradition, however, it seems likely that at least one minor character will once again be part of the action: everyone's favorite token white guy, (former) CIA agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman).

That's all we have to go on until "Black Panther 3" is officially put into production, but things can change pretty quickly in this business. It remains to be seen if Coogler will return for the threequel and where exactly Marvel will be able to fit it into their ever-busy schedule.