It’s official – the Black Panther lives! At the San Diego Comic-Con 2026, Marvel Studios officially announced that Black Panther 3 is happening and will be released on Dec. 15, 2028. A third Black Panther film was expected after the ending of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but it truly feels surreal that it is actually happening, especially since we will be getting a new character as Black Panther. This movie announcement has many people excited, shocked, and emotional all at once since we won’t have the original Black Panther due to Chadwick Boseman’s death on Aug. 28, 2020. However, there are high hopes surrounding the future of Black Panther and how they are keeping not only the character alive, but Boseman himself.
In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, we see that Shuri becomes the new Black Panther, but come to find out she won’t have that role forever. Turns out, Ryan Coogler had a plan to keep Boseman’s legacy as Black Panther alive even if he can’t play the character anymore. In the end credits scene of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Shuri meets a new member of her family: her nephew, Prince T’Challa, son of King T’Challa. I think this was a beautiful and amazing way to keep the Black Panther alive. I don’t think fans considered the idea of King T’Challa’s son becoming the Black Panther one day. Many were scared that they would just replace Black Panther with another actor, but having his son take over and keeping his name alive is absolutely incredible. This avoids pushing Boseman away from the franchise, as he made such an incredible impact as Black Panther, and I truly hope that he is happy with how Black Panther is moving forward and that he will never be forgotten.
Not only did Marvel Studios announce that Black Panther 3 is happening, but they actually revealed who will be our new Black Panther! Our new Black Panther and Prince of Wakanda is David Jonsson. This is a big role to take on, not only because the character is very popular, but because I don’t think fans could imagine anyone else as Black Panther aside from Boseman himself. Not to mention that Jonsson is not only playing Black Panther, he is playing the original Black Panther’s son, which includes his name and title to Wakanda since he took on his father’s name. However, seeing the video of him coming out at San Diego Comic-Con when Marvel was announcing his role, you can tell that he wants to do an amazing job playing the character and to please fans with his performance. I have high hopes for him and I believe he will play Black Panther very well and make Boseman very proud.
Now, when they announced that his son will officially start being the new Black Panther, I had a lot of thoughts. Honestly, I didn’t expect them to have his son become the new Black Panther so soon because Prince T’Challa was still a kid in the end credit scene in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. So this got me thinking, what’s going to happen to Shuri since she’s Black Panther at the moment? How many years is it going to be between Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Black Panther 3? Also, how is he going to be the Prince of Wakanda if in the Black Panther teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday M’Baku clearly states that he is the king of Wakanda?
I have a little theory that in Avengers: Doomsday, we might actually get an appearance of his son being the new Black Panther even though Shuri is still holding the position, based on the teaser trailer of Black Panther’s return in this Avengers movie and in the official trailer of Avengers Doomsday. But, I guess we will have to wait and see how this will be approached from Avengers: Doomsday to Black Panther 3 and hope all of our questions are answered.
So, if you can’t tell by now, I am very excited about how the Black Panther franchise is moving forward. Since Boseman can no longer play Black Panther, I truly think that this is the perfect way to continue a franchise and never forget who made it iconic and memorable. Coogler is an amazing director and knowing him, he is going to make this movie very successful. I was really sad and scared about what the future of Black Panther was going to look like with our lead no longer being with us, but with everything that has come out about the franchise, I have high hopes and big expectations that the third film will not disappoint and it is going to continue the iconic franchise that many generations will get to see and enjoy. We have two years to get prepared for this movie, so until then, we wait for updates, get ready for an emotional rollercoaster ride (especially with how the last movie went) and when it’s time, return to the beautiful world of Wakanda. As Black Panther would say, “Wakanda Forever!”