Kevin says a ‘Black Panther’ sequel is happening
KEVIN Feige has admitted there is already a “solid direction” in place for Black Panther 2.
The original Black Panther movie - which stars Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa and his titular alter-ego - may have only just hit cinema screen in February this year, but Marvel Studios boss Kevin has revealed there are already plans in place for a sequel to the blockbuster hit.
When asked what he could reveal about Black Panther 2, the 44-year-old studio president said: “Nothing specific to reveal, other than to say we absolutely will do that. One of the favourite pastimes at Marvel Studios is sitting around on a Part One and talking and dreaming about what we would do in a Part Two. 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.”
Chadwick’s Black Panther character will next be seen on screen in the Marvel ensemble movie Avengers: Infinity War which will see him star alongside the likes of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland).
And Kevin has revealed that Black Panther’s home world of Wakanda - which features heavily in the upcoming ensemble feature - will act as an “anchor point” to link the Avengers franchise with the Black Panther series.
When asked what role Wakanda would play in the Marvel Comics Universe (MCU), Kevin told Entertainment Weekly magazine: “Anchor point is a good way of (describing) it, particularly as some of our other anchor points, Asgard for instance, are gone.”
Avengers: Infinity War - which will also feature the stars from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, including Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana - is set to be released on Apr 27.
On a different topic, Kevin has revealed Marvel Studios are set to hire more women and people of colour both on and off screen.
The 44-year-old president of Marvel Studios has praised the “positive initiative” of getting more minority groups involved in
Nothing specific to reveal, other than to say we absolutely will do that. One of the favourite pastimes at Marvel Studios is sitting around on a Part One and talking and dreaming about what we would do in a Part Two. 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. Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios boss
film, and has said that the popular studios - which has recently begun work on the female-led Captain Marvel movie - are doing more to hire a diverse range of people to fit “all different capacities” of jobs.
When asked if Marvel plan to hire more women and people of colour both as actors and behind the camera, Kevin said: “Yes. I think we’re seeing it shift from a very purposeful initiative to just a fact of life, to just a way of doing business. Then there are people we hired that we’re not ready to announce in all different capacities, particularly behind the camera. As Black Panther has so loudly declared, (representation) can only help you tell unique stories, can only help you do things in a new, and unique, and fresh, and exciting way. If you do that, audiences will notice it, and appreciate it, and support it.”
Captain Marvel - which will star Brie Larson in the titular role - marks the first movie from the studios to have a female lead, and Kevin has admitted that the production might be considered a “risk”, but thinks the final product will be worth it.
Speaking about which of Marvel’s movie he would consider to be risks, he told Entertainment Weekly: “You look at Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man ... You look at Black Panther or Captain Marvel, that we have just started filming. One could consider those risks, whenever you’re doing something new and it’s not proven. Doing a third version of Spider-Man. Those are all things that have a certain amount of risk associated with them, but early on we decided we didn’t want to be just the Iron Man studio or just the Avengers studio. We want to be the Marvel Studio.”