Ryan Coogler Isn't Confirmed For 'Black Panther 2' Yet, But Marvel Is Working On It

Excitement is ramping up for Avengers: Infinity War, and the gargantuan success of Marvel Studios' Black Panther earlier this year has a lot to do with that. We know we'll see T'Challa, Shuri, and a majority of the Wakandan residents again later this week as they battle Thanos' army, but who will be at the helm the next time we return to Wakanda for a sequel to Black Panther? Will Ryan Coogler return as the Black Panther 2 director? Read what Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had to say about that below.

In a new interview with Collider, Feige echoed his comments from earlier this year by repeating that he hopes Coogler comes back to sit in the director's chair for Black Panther 2. But while his earlier comments were little more than vague hopes that Coogler would return, the difference now is that Feige says negotiations are actively underway to make that happen:

"We definitely want Ryan to come back and that's actively being worked out right now. When will it be? A lot of it will be when Ryan wants to and not rushing anything, but I think we have an idea of when it will be. But, again, [we're] not going to announce any post-Avengers 4 movies until hopefully after Avengers 4, which is another reason we're not going to Comic-Con."

I imagine Coogler's representatives are working hard to get him a significant pay raise for Black Panther 2, something that would be well deserved considering that the first film is the highest grossing Marvel movie ever made. Not only that, but the first Black Panther has already passed Titanic to become the third-highest grossing movie in American cinematic history.

Coogler was instrumental in the movie's success, and I'd like to think that Marvel Studios knows that and is willing to bank on his talents for a sequel. In our interview with Coogler, the director told us about how he had a great collaborative relationship with the people at Marvel, so it sounds like there's desire for a deal on both sides. Now it's just up to the deal-makers to work out the details.

As for what Black Panther 2 will be about, we're still not sure yet, but last month Feige said they have "a pretty solid direction" in mind:

"One of the favorite pastimes at Marvel Studios is sitting around on a Part One and talking and dreaming about what we would do in a Part Two. There have been plenty of those conversations as we were putting together the first Black Panther. We have ideas and a pretty solid direction on where we want to head with the second one."