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Despite the cultural juggernaut that the Black Panther films became, it's a bit baffling that Marvel Studios has left us wondering when we'll see the world of Wakanda next. Turns out, the next big screen outing might be coming sooner than we thought.

It's been 3 years since the second Black Panther film, Wakanda Forever, hit theaters. If you remember, Wakanda Forever had massive implications for both the mantle of Black Panther as well as Wakanda itself. Queen Ramonda was killed when Namor attacked Wakanda, and Shuri, battling her grief for both her late mother and brother, teamed up with a brilliant young woman named Riri Williams to fight Namor. Also, we haven't seen Daniel Kaluuya's W'Kabi since the 2018 Black Panther movie! What's he been up to? 

It's not as if fans have been left entirely hanging. We enjoyed the Eyes of Wakanda animated show on Disney+ earlier this year, and Ironheart updated us on what Riri got up to following her big screen debut, but beyond that...? It's been notably quiet. But fear not, true believers. Ryan Coogler, the co-writer and director of the Black Panther films, has confirmed that he's already hard at work on Black Panther 3. As per Deadline, Coogler said, “If it was anybody but you, I would say, ‘I can neither confirm or deny.' But we’re working on it hard. … Yeah, it’s the next movie.”

At this time of writing, Black Panther 3 has not been officially announced as part of Marvel Studios's upcoming slate - in fact, officially, no movie has, beyond 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars. That said, the movie has been on fans' radars since 2024, when Denzel Washington revealed that Coogler "was writing a part" for him in it. However, we do know that the current Black Panther, Shuri, will appear in Avengers: Doomsday, as actress Letitia Wright was among the list of names announced for the film. She'll be joined by her Black Panther castmate Winston Duke, who plays M'Baku, the leader of the Jabari tribe in Wakanda, for the next Avengers movie. 

Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will be out in 2026 and 2027, respectively, so we've still got a while to wait for Black Panther 3. For context, Chadwick Boseman first debuted as Black Panther in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, and it would be another two years until his solo film came out. So perhaps we can expect a similar timeline for Black Panther 3? Only time will tell. 

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters