Marvel is facing an unenviable task with Black Panther 2, as they have to figure out a way to move forward with the franchise without the titular hero himself. Recently, though, studio president Kevin Feige seemed confident when he teased their plans for the upcoming sequel, emphasizing that the movie will instead focus on the various other inhabitants of Wakanda and not T’Challa following Chadwick Boseman’s tragic death last year.
It also seems that another plan they have to give the follow-up a boost involves stuffing it full of villains. FandomWire is reporting that no less than three iconic antagonists will feature in Black Panther 2. First of all, FW claims that Namor the Sub-Mariner will finally make his MCU debut in the film, as the King of Atlantis will become involved when a conflict begins to build between Wakanda and his underwater kingdom.
But there’s someone else behind the scenes who’s pulling their strings, apparently. FW goes on to say that Doctor Doom will likewise turn up in BP2, occupying a small but important role as he’ll be revealed as the “overall bad guy” working in the background. This would presumably then lead to more substantial future appearances for the Fantastic Four foe.
Last but not least, FW asserts that Michael B. Jordan is coming back as Erik Killmonger, despite his character having died at the end of Black Panther. You might wonder if the multiverse, introduced in Spider-Man 3 and Doctor Strange 2, is involved in his return, but FW says that it’ll be explained that Killmonger “didn’t fully die” when we thought he did and was no doubt revived by advanced Wakandan technology.
All of these characters have been rumored to feature in Black Panther 2 before now, of course, so FandomWire could be onto something here. However, it also reads like a fan’s wish list of who they’d like to see in the sequel, so we’d best take it with a pinch of salt.