Black Panther kicked off 2018 with a bang for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and now the focus has shifted to Infinity War, which also features much of the Black Panther cast. Since it was such a success, talks of Black Panther 2 started up right away and many wondered if Ryan Coogler would be signing back on to direct the sequel. Now, in a new interview, the Russo Brothers seemingly confirm that the director is returning to the MCU.

In a new interview promoting Infinity War, the Russo Brothers were asked about who has seen the final cut of the movie all the way through. To keep from spoiling anything, the cast and crew won't be able to see Avengers 3 until the world premiere in Hollywood on Monday, April 23rd. However, there have been some exceptions. James Gunn recently revealed that he's seen the movie, and heaped praise upon it. Joe Russo indicates that a few other directors have seen it as well. He explains.

"We did allow James (Gunn), Jon Watts, and Ryan Coogler to see the movie to this point. So, yes you have to be working on a film that this will be affecting your storytelling moving forward."

This new piece of information from Joe Russo seems to indicate that Ryan Coogler will return to direct Black Panther 2. It still has not been officially confirmed, but he has seen Infinity War so that he can base the next story around the epic events of the next two Avengers movies. Plus, Marvel boss Kevin Feige indicated right after Black Panther hit theaters that they all wanted Coogler to return to the MCU.

One would have to imagine that Ryan Coogler is in a position to earn some extra cash for Black Panther 2 after the smashing success of the first movie. A lot has happened since it was released. In addition to Chadwick Boseman making the cover of Time magazine, Ryan Coogler has just recently been named one of Time's 100 Must Influential People of 2018. It's just another accolade of many that Coogler, the cast and crew, and the MCU have received since the beginning of the year.

There is no current release date set for Black Panther 2, but it is in active development at the moment. It's safe to assume that T'Challa and the rest of Wakanda will have a major part to play in the upcoming phase 4 of the MCU. Let's just hope that Ryan Coogler agrees to stay on board to keep the familial ties together that strengthened the first installment and came across on the big screen in a major way. You can watch the rest of the interview with the Russo Brothers talking about Infinity War and hinting at Ryan Coogler's return to the MCU below, courtesy of the ODE YouTube channel.