Despite the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman, Ryan Coogler proved that there are still plenty of stories to tell in that particular corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was a big success for Marvel Studios, but will Ryan Coogler return for Black Panther 3?
Ryan Coogler recently spoke with The New York Times, where he said that he’d be down to continue making movies about Wakanda for as long as audiences will have him.
I feel blessed that I have the opportunity to work on these movies, bro. When I got asked to do the first one, it was like a moving train. I thank God every day that I was able to jump on it and meet these people, these actors, and to meet Chadwick during some of the last years of his life. I’ll do it as long as folks will have me. But I think it’s bigger than just me or Joe. Between the first and second movie, we made $2 billion at the box office, which is what matters the most to corporations. So I hope that it continues, man. I hope people are still making movies about Wakanda long after we’re gone.
As Ryan Coogler stated, the two Black Panther movies have made over $2 billion at the worldwide box office, so if Coogler is game, I’m sure Marvel isn’t about to turn him down. The director also recently discussed his original plan for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had Chadwick Boseman not died. “It was going to be a father-son story from the perspective of a father, because the first movie had been a father-son story from the perspective of the sons,” Coogler explained. “In the script, T’Challa was a dad who’d had this forced five-year absence from his son’s life [because of the Blip].“
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finds Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye, and the Dora Milaje fighting to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. When Namor, king of a hidden undersea nation, alerts them to a global threat and his disturbing plan to thwart it, the Wakandans band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Evertt Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. The film stars Letitia Wright as Shuri, Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, Tenoch Huerta as Namor, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Michaela Coel as Aneka, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, Mabel Adena as Namora, Alex Livinalli as Attuma, and Martin Freeman as Everett Ross.
What would you like to see in Black Panther 3, and should Ryan Coogler return to direct?