Martin Freeman is set to make his return as Everett Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Black Panther 2. Freeman made his debut as the special government agent in Captain America: Civil War and went on to have a more significant role in last year's Black Panther. We didn't see Ross in Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame, which raises some questions in regards to what he's been up to, but we'll likely get some answers in the upcoming sequel.

The confirmation came from Martin Freeman personally. The Hobbit and Sherlock actor has been making the rounds to promote his new movie Ode to Joy. During a recent interview, the subject of Black Panther 2 came up, since the project was recently, officially confirmed by Marvel Studios and Freeman confirmed the plan is for him to return, though he doesn't know exactly when that will be. Here's what he had to say.

"As far as I know, I will be [returning]. As far as I know, I will be in another Black Panther. That's my understanding. As to when that will happen, I don't know."

This makes a great deal of sense, but it is surely welcome news for fans of the MCU. Martin Freeman became an important ally to Chadwick Boseman's King T'Challa during the course of Black Panther. The world will have changed a lot by the time the sequel rolls around. Given the established relationship between the two characters, which helps connect Wakanda to the rest of the world, it would honestly seem strange if Everett Ross weren't coming back. As for how much of the man we'll see? That's up to Ryan Coogler.

Much of the success of Black Panther can be attributed to director Ryan Coogler. Naturally, Marvel wanted to make sure not to mess with a winning formula and they've locked down Coogler to not only return to the director's chair, but to help write the next installment of the solo franchise as well. While the sequel was confirmed during Marvel's San Diego Comic-Con presentation, it won't be part of the upcoming Phase 4 lineup. Instead, it will have to wait until Phase 5, which doesn't kick off until 2022. So we've still got at least a few years to wait.

Black Panther went on to become one of Marvel's most successful movies to date, grossing $1.34 billion at the global box office. It also earned widespread critical acclaim, which ultimately landed the comic book flick three Oscar wins original score, production design and costume design, as well as a nomination for Best Picture, making it the first comic book movie ever to do so. Needless to say, expectations are high for the follow-up. Black Panther 2 does not yet have a release date set. We'll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project are made available. This news comes to us via Collider.