San Diego Comic-Con doesn't get to have all the MCU fun. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige took a break from all the Sony Spider-Man drama to drop some new MCU news at Disney's D23 Expo. We knew Black Panther 2 was coming, and it was confirmed with a release date of May 6, 2022.
That's a long way off! Ryan Coogler, director of the first Black Panther, was on hand for the mini update. So the sequel has been announced, but Black Panther 2 won't be the final title. What is the title? That wasn't shared. We also didn't get the opening or the villain. We just got confirmation that the film exists, and a release date in the books.
Does this mean Black Panther 2 -- or whatever it will be called -- is confirmed for Phase 5, or a late addition to the Phase 4 slate introduced at Comic-Con? I'd say Phase 5, but if Kevin Feige wants to update later, he can do so.
As far as we know, MCU Phase Four includes Black Widow and Eternals in 2020; then Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love and Thunder for 2021.
Back at Comic-Con, Kevin Feige had this to say about what else was to come after Phase 4:
Now there's a lot of other stuff we didn't get to talk about today. We didn't even mention that we're making Black Panther 2. We didn't mention the fact that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is coming. We didn't have time to talk about Captain Marvel 2, by the way. I didn't even have time to talk about the Fantastic Four. And there's no time left to talk about mutants.
That left everyone with the impression that all of that -- including folding the X-Men and Fantastic Four into the MCU -- would be happening in Phase 5 (or maybe Phase 6). Ryan Reynolds played into the Phase Five discussion with a later Deadpool post.
During D23, Marvel Studios also confirmed Kit Harington was joining Eternals (Game of Thrones reunion for the Stark "brothers"!), and showed off some early looks at the characters. More Black Widow footage was shown, and Disney also showed footage from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Jungle Cruise.
As for what's ahead in Black Panther 2, we know certain characters are definitely returning, although there's apparently a question mark about Michael B. Jordan. There's speculation, and hope that Namor the Sub-Mariner might be the new villain in Black Panther 2, but no one is ready to confirm any details like that yet. Here's everything you should know about Black Panther ahead of MCU Phase 4 and the sequel's 2022 release date.
