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'Black Panther 2': Marvel officially confirms sequel

Not only will the sequel "absolutely" happen, but it already has a strong direction, says Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
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Gael Cooper
2 min read
blackpanther3

Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) will be back.

Disney/Marvel Studios

A sequel to "Black Panther" would seem like a no-brainer after the enormous box office and critical success of the first superhero film. And Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed it in an interview published Friday by Entertainment Weekly.

"We absolutely will do that," Feige said of a second " Black Panther " film, though he wouldn't reveal any plot secrets. 

But "Black Panther 2," whatever it ends up being called, will likely flow organically from the first film, because it's something the filmmakers talked about even when making the first movie. 

"One of the favorite pastimes at Marvel Studios is sitting around on a part one and talking and dreaming about what we would do in a part two," Feige said. "There have been plenty of those conversations as we were putting together the first 'Black Panther.' We have ideas and a pretty solid direction on where we want to head with the second one."

Could that solid direction include rapper Kendrick Lamar as a villain? The musician, who curated and produced the first film's soundtrack, told BBC Radio 1 he'd have fun playing a villain like Erik Killmonger from the first movie.

"He was a villain but he was loved and misunderstood," Lamar said. "So if I could, I'd play a Killmonger for sure."

"Black Panther" -- starring Chadwick BosemanMichael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wright -- is already the biggest box office movie of 2018, having topped the $1 billion mark. It opened Friday in China, the world's second largest movie market, earning an estimated $22.7 million.

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