Following some exciting recent developments, Marvel Studios now has even more reason to make the Black Panther decision so many MCU fans have long been hoping for. Although updates for Black Panther 3 have been limited, excitement continues to build all the same.

Major MCU crossover events on the horizon with Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. As such, the timing may be right for a casting decision that has long been debated, with Marvel now having the perfect opportunity to do something that would be incredibly exciting and meaningful.

Black Panther 3 Has Been Confirmed For A While Now — Here’s What We Know

Black Panther 3 has been in development under director Ryan Coogler for some time. While Marvel Studios hasn’t revealed many plot details or an official release date, the sequel is widely expected to arrive around 2028. That said, one confirmed element is the involvement of actor Denzel Washington in Black Panther 3, having revealed that Coogler has written a part specifically for Washington in the upcoming MCU sequel.

Before that sequel arrives, we also know that various Wakandan heroes will return in the upcoming MCU crossovers. Currently, it’s been confirmed that Shuri’s Black Panther, King M’Baku, and more of the Dora Milaje are confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday. Additionally, they’ll also be joined by Namor and the underwater nation of Talokan.

It’s widely expected that both Doomsday and Secret Wars will serve as the culmination of the current Multiverse Saga, involving major incursions, heroes from other realities, and alternate timelines, potentially reshaping the MCU’s entire status quo in the aftermath.

With that in mind, it’s certainly quite possible that the multiversal crises coming in Doomsday and Secret Wars could result in the Black Panther decision many have wanted Marvel Studios to make for years.

Following His Oscar Win, Marvel Should Absolutely Cast Michael B. Jordan As A New Black Panther

Without question, Michael B. Jordan delivered one of the MCU’s most dynamic and compelling performances as Erik Killmonger in the first Black Panther movie.

Also known as N’Jadaka son of N’Jobu, Erik was a fully tragic and ideologically driven antagonist, brutal in his methods yet determined to violently achieve what he saw as a greater good for the entire world beyond what had long been the closed borders of Wakanda.

Erik’s coup was stopped by T’Challa’s Black Panther, and he N’Jadaka died at the end of the first Black Panther movie. However, Jordan’s Killmonger still returned in Wakanda Forever during a powerful Ancestral Plane sequence opposite a vengeful Shuri following the deaths of her brother and mother (easily one of the sequel’s best and most character scenes).

Now, there’s certainly an opportunity to bring Michael B. Jordan back again for Black Panther 3, though this time perhaps with a much bigger role.

The MCU multiverse could provide a fascinating twist. Rather than reviving N’Jadaka as a villain, Marvel could introduce a variant from another reality who grew up under different circumstances, perhaps even becoming a far nobler and more heroic Black Panther, just like Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa had been.

Not only would this put a new light on Killmonger’s character by literally and physically showing what might have been, but it would also align with a recent MCU precedent. If a former hero actor like Robert Downey Jr. can return as a villain with Doomsday’s Doctor Doom, the reverse could be just as compelling.

Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler also share a proven creative partnership that Marvel Studios should absolutely take advantage of, especially after they each won their first Oscar for Sinners. Their collaborations consistently deliver incredible emotional depth, cultural weight, and critical acclaim, all qualities essential to the Black Panther franchise, and should still be present in its future.

Without a doubt, Marvel Studios should absolutely keep the deck stacked by keeping the Coogler/Jordan partnership going, and what better way than finally giving Jordan his dream childhood role with a new Black Panther?

Black Panther 3 is in development from Marvel Studios (though a release date has not been set).