In ten years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe what is the highest-grossing film domestically? You might think it’s one of the Avengers flicks, or maybe an Iron Man, but nope. It’s Black Panther, which earned $700M stateside and $1.3B worldwide, becoming a cultural touchstone that saw audiences dressing up like refugees from Coming to America. With those numbers you just don’t break up a good thing, and Marvel is going to let Ryan Coogler slip away the way he did for Creed 2. They’ve now signed him to write and direct Black Panther 2.
The sequel was never really in doubt, it was just a question of whether Coogler wanted to return. He’s a busy guy with a lot of irons in the fire, including the drama Wrong Answer which will pair him up with frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan. He’s also exec-producing a Space Jam sequel with LeBron James.
Timing is also at play here. Coogler may begin writing the script next year to start shooting late 2019 or early 2020, which means we may not see Black Panther 2 until 2021. Other than Spider-Man: Far From Home in July 2019 there are no confirmed dates for anything beyond Avengers 4, so expect Marvel to do some shifting around. If Black Panther comes away with a Best Picture Oscar nomination as some expect, I wouldn’t be surprised if the timing gets moved up.[THR]
