The actors of Marvel's "Black Panther" have been celebrating non-stop these past few weeks. Aside from scoring a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, the cast recently won as the Best Ensemble for Drama under the film category at the recent Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.
During the red-carpet event at SAG, the cast hinted that there's a big chance that the "Black Panther" sequel could happen given the number of recognition for the movie. Angela Basset (Queen Ramonda) and her husband, actor Courtney B. Vance, even suggested to Entertainment Weekly that Michael B. Jordan (Erik Killmonger) could return to the follow-up movie even though his villainous character died in the last film.
Basset did not outright confirm what her husband revealed to the press. The actress, however, pointed out that viewers did not see Killmonger's body after he plunged to his "death" into the ocean in that pivotal "Black Panther" scene. So, there's still a strong possibility his character survived.
In 2018, "Black Panther" writer and director quietly closed a deal with Marvel about returning to do the sequel, according to The Hollywood Reporter. But the studio has not yet earmarked a production and a release date schedule. Until those are certain, the "Black Panther" sequel is not officially greenlighted.
Meanwhile, there are also rumors that the "Black Panther" sequel could feature a new villain aside from the return of Killmonger. Coogler dished to Yahoo! UK that he wants to bring Kraven the Hunter from the "Spider-Man" stories since he's also featured in the "Black Panther" comic series.
Kraven the Hunter is an aristocrat with superhuman powers and agility. The director said that he loves the character in almost every version of its iteration in the Marvel comics.
But the film rights to the character is with Sony and not Marvel Studios. There have been reports that Sony is planning to do a solo "Kraven" movie.
"Spider-Man" star Tom Holland was able to appear in both the Sony production and Marvel Cinematic Universe production because Marvel Studios negotiated a good deal. Will it do the same for "Black Panther" should the sequel be settled?
"Black Panther," which came out in 2018, is led by Chadwick Boseman as the superhero from the Jabari Tribe in Wakanda. Their nation is one of the most advanced and richest in the world. The movie also stars Lupita Nyong'o (Nakia), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Martin Freeman (Everett K. Ross), Daniel Kaluuya (W'Kabi), Letitia Wright (Shuri) and Winston Duke (M'Baku).
