Black Panther 2 will reportedly begin production early next year to prepare for its May 2022 release date. Marvel Studios, like all studios, has had to halt work on a number of projects and juggle their Phase 4 release date schedule. The long-awaited sequel to 2018's Black Panther is not included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase and 4, but it is a part of Phase 5, which closely follows. Ryan Coogler is returning to write and direct the sequel.

Black Panther 2 is reportedly all set to begin shooting in March 2021. It is believed that the production will take place in Australia. Productions on daytime soaps have restarted in Australia and movie productions will likely follow soon. However, it's unclear where the United States will be in 2021 in terms of getting back to some kind of normalcy, which means it's also unclear if Black Panther 2, or any other production, will be able to start up again on a set schedule.

Ryan Coogler stated at the end of 2019 that he was still in the very beginning stages of crafting the Black Panther 2 storyline. With that being said, the director/writer has found himself with a lot of extra time over the last few weeks, which means he may have completed the movie, along with a ton of other projects. Black Panther 2 marks the first time that Coogler has tackled a sequel to one of his own projects in his career. As of now, the project will keep its May 2022 release date, though that could change at any moment.

T'Challa actor Chadwick Boseman recently spoke about his goals for Black Panther 2. "I think, you know, hopefully we can maintain the foundation that we sort of set and build upon it and expand it and explore it," said Boseman. At that time, Ryan Coogler was still in the beginning stages of writing, though he may have shared a few details with the actor. "That's what I hope. But I think first you have to maintain the foundation. We built a culture and a world, so you have to make sure that you keep that in place," concluded Boseman.

For now, we still have a pretty long wait ahead of us before we see what T'Challa and crew have been up to. And while 4 years seems like a long wait in between sequels, MCU fans had Black Panther in Civil War, Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. 2018 was the year of T'Challa, so a little breather sounds like a wise move for Marvel Studios. Plus, Chadwick Boseman and the rest of the cast have all been up to a bunch of new projects since the first installment blew up. Hopefully Black Panther 2 will be able to stay on track. The sequel production start was first revealed by Production List and then shared on Reddit.