Doom with the metal face.

Though it’s not even part of Marvel‘s current “phase,” Black Panther 2 has been the subject of quite a few “leaks” lately. One of which pertains to what could be the Thanos replacement of the comic book giant’s next phase.

Of course, nothing’s been confirmed, but trusted Marvel insider, Charles Murphy (who allegedly “predicted” all of the titles announced at Marvel’s Comic-Con reveal this past summer) is convinced Doctor Doom will be the villain in the Ryan Coogler-directed sequel. In a recent post to his site, Murphy even offers a loose (and brief) synopsis: “Victor Von Doom will begin expanding his empire, conquering parts of Africa and, ultimately, come into conflict with the nation of Wakanda and the Black Panther.”

Coogler’s sequel is slated to arrive on May 6th, 2022 as the first film in Marvel’s fifth phase, which includes reboots of Fantastic Four and Blade, as well as follow-ups to Ant Man 2, Captain Marvel, and Guardians of The Galaxy 2. Should the original metal face villain be introduced in Black Panther 2, he could very well end up serving as an overarching villain for the whole chapter, providing a fairly logical point of entry for Fantastic Four as the phase’s penultimate release.

Again, nothing’s certain at this point, as the film isn’t even in pre-production. But Murphy’s record is pretty good, according to The Independent. However, if all this pans out and (all-caps) DOOM doesn’t take-on a Kendrick-esque curatorial role on the film’s soundtrack, that would be a missed opportunity, bordering on reprehensible.