Black Panther will not be introduced until Phase Four
Studio executives and fans alike want to see a Black Panther movie – many have called the film to fill one of the Phase Three slots. However despite the eagerness to have the character hit the big screen, from the look of things we will not have a Black Panther movie any time soon. There has been little discussion about casting to do with the film. Doctor Strange on the other hand has a shortlist of directors and casting rumors around it – Black Panther has nothing.
There is one slot left open for a Marvel film in Phase Three and the chances of Black Panther look slim. Rumours so far suggest that the final slot will be filled with a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel pending its success. And there are several black superheroes now in Falcon, War Machine and even Luke Cage who will appear on the Netflix series. War Machine, who is played by Don Cheadle, is set to appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron as a member of the team – something he missed out on before. Because of this there may be less pressure to diversify superheroes now.
Marvel chief Kevin Fiege did say a Black Panther movie will happen – he just doesn’t know when. Maybe Phase Four will pave the way for a standalone Black Panther movie, or perhaps the character could feature in a Marvel One-Shot before becoming a member of the team in Avengers 3?
Originally published April 13, 2014. Updated April 15, 2018.
