Buried in the announcement that Ryan Coogler is back for Black Panther 2 is the clearest indicator yet of when fans might see the movie.
Breathe a sigh of relief, Marvel fans. One of the premiere sub-franchises has its director and writer returning for what has to be one of the more hotly-anticipated sequels ever (only behind probably Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 … and that’s about it). Yes, we’re talking about Black Panther calling Ryan Coogler in again, with The Hollywood Reporter reporting that it’s officially a done deal.
But buried in the story is something of an outline for when we might get the sequel, as it states that there is “an eye to start production in either late 2019 or early 2020” with Coogler writing it next year. Although THR reports that things could still change over at Marvel, that would potentially put the film at a late 2020 or early 2021 release date.
Open dates, per Den of Geek, include May 1, 2020; July 31, 2020; and Nov. 6, 2020. If I had to guess about which of the slots the movie would take in 2020, it’d be the November date, although I’ve previously noted that it could be for Doctor Strange 2.
Den of Geek also reports that 2021 dates for Marvel films include Feb. 12, 2021; May 7, 2021; and Nov. 5, 2021. As we all recall, Black Panther did drop in February this year, meaning that it’s possible that’s the date we should guess.
Even a 2021 release would be in line with the other sub-trilogies, where two to three years came between the first and second films in each. For example, 2011 had Captain America: The First Avenger; Captain America: The Winter Soldier followed in 2014.
That doesn’t preclude T’Challa, Shuri, Nakia, and Okoye from appearing in other films between now and then, especially not after the prominence of Wakanda in Infinity War and the possibility of the X-Men (and thus Storm, who has a history with T’Challa in the comics) joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to the Disney and Fox deal.
But we can at least rest assured that things will safely be in Coogler’s hands for Black Panther 2. Hopefully, it’ll push the conversation even further forward.