Despite the fact that Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is yet to get underway, we’re starting to get a sense at what Marvel Studios has planned for Phase Three; we already know that Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man will launch the third batch of Marvel movies in November 2015, while Marvel Studios supremo Kevin Feige has made it pretty clear that a Doctor Strange movie is high on the list of priorities. But before Hank Pym and Stephen Strange arrive in the MCU, could we see the long-rumoured introduction of the King of Wakanda, T’Challa? Well, a tweet from Morris Chestnut has certainly got the speculation flowing…
Chestnut – who is set to appear in this year’s superhero sequel Kick-Ass 2 – has posted an intriguing message on Twitter, stating that “It’s time to get familiar with the Black Panther character!”, as well as posting an image of Black Panther #8. Of course, a Black Panther movie has been rumoured for almost as long as Ant-Man, and it’s pretty obvious that T’Challa will arrive on the big screen at some point, so it’s possible that Chestnut is simply putting himself out there in the hope of securing the highly sought after role (he certainly wouldn’t be the first actor to do so). However, we already know that Joss Whedon plans to introduce a new character or two when Earth’s Mightiest Heroes reassemble for The Avengers 2, and Black Panther would seem to be an ideal candidate. And there are a couple of Avengers on that comic book cover…
Update – Chestnut has just dropped another tweet suggesting that Black Panther may be appearing in The Avengers 2 – and I’m guessing if he’s going around dropping spoilers like that, he’s already blew his chances…
Not final. #BlackPanther may be in #avengers2 first. RT @jamaal91604133: @morris_chestnut Can’t wait to see this movie. #BlackPanther
— Morris Chestnut (@Morris_Chestnut) April 9, 2013
Whether there’s anything in this story or not, Marvel fans have plenty to look forward to in Phase Two, with this year’s Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World followed by Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, and building up to The Avengers 2 in May 2015.