Now that Africa’s crown jewel has opened its doors to the wider world as of Black Panther, Marvel boss Kevin Feige is quietly confident that Wakanda can become an “anchor point” for the MCU in Avengers: Infinity War and beyond.
Chatting to Entertainment Weekly (h/t Screen Rant) in anticipation of the film, which is said to be the event movie to end all event movies, Feige touched base on the importance of Wakanda, and how the fictional utopia will be used as something of a lynchpin as the Marvel Cinematic Universe begins to make preparations for Phase 4, beginning with Spider-Man: Homecoming 2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and a bona fide sequel to Black Panther.
It’s little more than a collection of ideas at this point, as T’Challa’s standalone debut is still playing in theaters across the globe (and making a pretty penny in the process). In fact, the latest numbers from Box Office Mojo indicate that Black Panther ($562 million) could go on to dethrone The Avengers ($623 million) at the domestic box office before all is said and done.
Getting back to Infinity War and Wakanda, in particular, though, Feige refrained from divulging too much, too soon, but he did confirm that the third act of Avengers 3 will take place on the plains of the fictional African nation, where Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will gather together to protect Vision (and, by effect, the Mind Stone) from invading forces.
So perhaps Joe and Anthony Russo really plan to save the Soul Stone until Avengers 4 in 2019? It’s certainly not out of the question, but we’ll be able to form a better understanding of the MCU, along with Wakanda’s place in it, when Infinity War takes flight on April 27th.