Four years after Black Panther made history as the first Marvel film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has arrived in cinemas to another wave of strong reviews.
The new film pays emotional tribute to T’Challa star Chadwick Boseman, after the hugely popular actor tragically passed away in 2020, while also telling a new story that pits the Wakandans against iconic Marvel Comics character Namor.
And the film also leaves the door open to future sequels – so read on for everything we know so far about Black Panther 3.
Will there be a Black Panther 3?
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Before the release of Wakanda Forever, there had been no confirmation regarding a third Black Panther film, but the film ends with a message that reads “Black Panther will return,” so it now seems all but certain that we will be getting another instalment.
In late October 2022, producer Nate Moore had explained to Collider that, “We really want to see how audiences receive the film, and I think Ryan [Coogler] is really interested to see how the film plays before we decide.”
He added: “There are certainly ideas we’ve floated around of what a third film could be if we get to make it. But until the movie comes out, we’re a bit superstitious in that way. We don’t want to count our chickens, because you never know what’s going to happen.”
In a separate interview with Gizmodo, Coogler himself admitted that he had not yet “thought about” what the future holds in terms of further Black Panther movies.
“When it comes to writing and directing, I’m not the world’s greatest multitasker,” he said. “I kind of got to do what is in front of me and be singular. When it comes to producing, I’m more geared up to be able to do multiple things. And to plan things, I’ve got a great production company and fantastic collaborators that can help move things along.
“But when it comes to writing, and in this case, co-writing and directing, I’ve got to finish what’s in front of me and then and then think of all that is happening after that.”
It seems likely that we’ll hear more concrete details about further Black Panther films in the weeks and months after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is released, and we’ll be posting any updates in here as and when they arrive – so do keep checking back for all the latest news.
In the meantime, we do know that we’ll be heading back to Wakanda for a Disney Plus TV show, although further details about that series – including a title and a release date – are not yet available.
Danai Gurira will be reprising her role as Okoye in the series, with some reports suggesting that it could serve as an origin story for the character.
Black Panther 3 release date speculation
We’re still a long way off from knowing a release date, but given that most of Marvel Studios’ releases for the next couple of years have already been announced, we can safely assume that it will be rather a while until the next Black Panther movie arrives, if it does get the go-ahead as expected.
It seems possible that we could have to wait until Phase 7 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe until we get a Black Panther 3, which could mean waiting until late 2026. That would be the same four-year wait as there was between the first two Black Panther films.
That said, there are still three unannounced Phase 6 projects – currently earmarked for release on 25th July 2025, 7th November 2025, and 13th February 2026 respectively – so it’s still possible Black Panther 3 could take one of those slots. We’ll keep you updated with all the latest news right on this page.
Black Panther 3 plot
It’s still far too early to make any grand pronouncements about what the plot of the next Black Panther film will be – even if a threequel is officially announced soon, specific plot details are likely to be kept under wraps until very close to its eventual release.
However, there are plenty of directions a new film could go in, with the ending of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever leaving plenty of unanswered questions, particularly regarding the uneasy alliance that has been struck between Namor and the Wakandans.
Towards the end of Wakanda Forever, Namor tells his cousin Namora that he’s playing the long game, and one day the world will turn on Wakanda leaving Talokan as its only ally, so perhaps a third film could see this prediction come true.
There’s also the matter of Toussiant, Nakia and T’Challa’s son who is introduced in the post-credits scene at the end of Wakanda Forever, explaining to Shuri that he is Prince T’Challa, son of King T’Challa. A third film seems very likely to focus on this character at least to some extent – although quite how big a role he will play is still up for debate at this point.
Black Panther 3 cast
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We’d expect most of the main players from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to return in a third outing, so we can definitely expect to see more of the likes of Letitia Wright as Shuri, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Winston Duke as M’Baku and Tenoch Huerta as Namor – who has now formed an uneasy alliance with the Wakandans.
Other stars who could be back include Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart, Michaela Coel as Aneka, and Mabel Cadena as Namora, while there’s also a chance that some characters from the previous Black Panther film such as Daniel Kaluuya’s W’Kabi could return after sitting out this entry.
And of course, with the MCU’s list of characters growing at an increasingly fast rate, there’s every chance that numerous other big-name stars – who are either already in the MCU or are set to join at some point in the future – could play a part as well. We’ll post any updates here as and when we catch wind of them.
Meanwhile, one star who seems unlikely to return is Angela Bassett, after her character Ramonda was killed off in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Black Panther 3 trailer
There is likely to be a very long wait before any trailer is made available, but as soon as one is released we’ll post it right here.
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