When, for a time, Black Panther became the highest grossing Marvel movie ever, grossing $700 million in the US, it became pretty obvious that they weren’t going to miss capitalising on a sequel.
Now, we know that Black Panther 2 (a working title, apparently) will premiere on May 22, 2022. Ryan Coogler (who will be directing again) announced the release date at Disney’s D23 Expo in California.
The original Black Panther was hailed as a kind of antidote to Hollywood whitewashing, especially when it took home three of the seven Academy Awards it was nominated for. Ruth Carter became the first black woman to win an Oscar in the Best Costume Design category – here’s a breakdown of her best-dressed films – and the film also took home Best Production Design and Original Music Score.
Kendrick Lamar oversaw the soundtrack, which included Travis Scott, the Weeknd, SZA, Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee, James Blake, and more.
Black Panther also became a symbol of black solidarity; specifically, the Wakanda salute, which has been seen across red carpets, sports pitches, and in TV interviews.