Ryan Coogler is currently busy with Michel B. Jordan’s star-studded vampire period piece. However, when he wraps that up, he may be ready to return to Wakanda.
Internet rumors are swirling that Marvel Studios wants “Black Panther 3.” Of course, nothing is certain, so for right now this is all just rumor and speculation. We’ve always assumed we’d get another trip to Wakanda at some point, but understand that after the emotional turmoil of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the cast and crew probably needed a break.
Even though everything is still in the rumor stage, we have ideas about what we could see in a third “Black Panther” movie. To that end, we’ve gathered five guesses for moments we could possibly see jn “Black Panther 3.”
Crossover With Other MCU Characters
As much as we love Shuri, Okoye, Nakia and M’Baku, the absence of major characters like T’Challa, Killmonger and Ramonda casts a huge shadow over the next film.
“Wakanda Forever” needed to be about both the characters’ and our grief. That didn’t leave time for practical questions about Wakanda’s line of succession or how it’s navigating the post-”Endgame” landscape we saw play out in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” We also need to know if any of “Secret Invasion’s” Skrulls infiltrated Wakanda’s leadership.
To address some of these questions and help set up any other Wakanda-based stories we may see in the future, it would be cool to see other heroes come to the country and team up with Shuri, Okoye and M’Baku. We’re imagining something similar to “Captain America: Civil War.”
Multiverse Wakanda
This is supposed to be the Multiverse Saga, so give us more alternate universes.
We’ve gotten glimpses of the multiverse in “Loki,” “What If…?” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” But a full look at some of the alternate Wakandas that could be out there would connect the country to the overall MCU arc. In “What If…?” there was a universe in which Ramonda was the badass general of the army. And if alternate versions of Loki exist, there could be multiple variants of T’Challa across the multiverse.
King M’Baku
Yes, Shuri is next in line for the throne, but she seems uninterested in ruling. She wants to spend more time in her lab creating fresh tech and finding new uses for vibranium. Now that M’Baku is an influential member of the country’s leadership, perhaps she passes the crown on to him, entrusting the warrior to keep the outside world in line.
If we’re lucky, this could lead to M’Baku at the U.N. or another cameo from Anderson Cooper as he introduces the world to the new King of Wakanda. That would be hilarious.
Nick Fury
After the revelations about his life in “Secret Invasion,” jt’s time to see Nick Fury in Wakanda.
There’s no way that the man who knows ALL the secrets didn’t know the truth about Wakanda. Are y’all trying to convince us that Fury knew about aliens, but didn’t know about an African country with superpower level weapons? He probably worked with T’Chaka somewhere along the way and kept it secret so he would have a place to hide out if he ever needed it. We didn’t know about all his Skrull super-spies until “Secret Invasion,” so there’s no end to the secrets Nick Fury has been keeping all these years.
Ryan Coogler’s X-Men
Considering Storm’s connection to Wakanda, it’s the perfect place to introduce the X-Men.
Coogler brings to the MCU a focus on the people behind the superpowers. T’Challa is more than the Black Panther. He’s a son simultaneously trying to live up to his father’s legacy and reckon with the mistakes he must now fix. Killmonger’s “burn the world down” plan is awful but his reasons are somewhat understandable. Shuri’s struggle between grief and vengeance is the most human element featured in any of these movies. If the writer/director brings this kind of nuanced storytelling to the world of mutants, he could give us a fascinating new take on the X-Men.
Previous films have focused on Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto’s differing approaches to mutant freedom. Charles believes that if they just show they can help society, they’ll have a better chance at being accepted. Magneto has much more violent ideas about how mutants gain their freedom.
A country with the strongest metal on the planet is probably very appealing to Magneto.
Whatever happens with the X-Men, let’s hope we’re not starting from scratch. Though the earlier movies aren’t necessarily canon, it feels like they’re well-known enough that we don’t need to hear all about mutant genetics and DNA.
We suppose we’ll just have to wait until the July 26 release of “Deadpool & Wolverine” to get a better idea of what to expect from Marvel Studios’ take on the X-Men.
Namor and Talokan
Look, we don’t want it, but there’s a chance we’ll have to go back to Talokan. Honestly, we’re done with the underwater kingdom and its leader. One: He killed Ramonda and that’s unforgivable. Two: He was super creepy with Shuri. His weird obsession was uncomfortable and unnecessary. As far as Namor and Talokan are concerned, no need to return.