“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” star Letitia Wright spoke to Variety during the Official Digital Pre-Show at the Golden Globes and discussed the anticipated third chapter of the “Black Panther” saga.
Wright spoke with Variety chief correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, who asked, “When are we going to get ‘Black Panther 3’ greenlit?”
“I think it’s already in the works,” Wright replied. “You know, we just had a terrific two years of bringing it out and everybody coming together to support it. We need a little bit of a break, we need to regroup and [director] Ryan [Coogler] needs to get back into the lab, so it’s going to take a little while, but we’re really excited for you guys to see that.”
When pressed for more, Wright said, “I always try to do positive words and positive thinking, and I believe that good words manifest, so I’m manifesting a ‘Black Panther 3,’ why not?”
For Variety‘s November 2022 cover story about “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Coogler and Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige spoke about a potential third chapter. At the time, Coogler said that he “definitively” had “no idea what I’m doing next as a writer and director.”
But Feige said he had been having “conversations” with Coogler about a third “Black Panther” movie, with “ideas pitched back and forth.”
When asked whether he would ever consider making a “Black Panther” movie without Coogler, Feige demurred and referenced the death of “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman.
“I go back to what I said when we decided to make ‘Wakanda Forever’ after losing Chad,” he said. “This mythology and this ensemble and these characters deserve to continue and will continue after all of us are gone, I hope, and will continue forever in movies the way it has in comics for 50-plus years.”
Feige added, however, that working without Coogler “wouldn’t be the preference.”
When reached by Variety, a representative for Marvel Studios declined to comment further.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has made $831 million worldwide since its Nov. 11 release date.
Watch the interview below:
Adam B. Vary contributed to this story.