What I Heard This Week: ‘BLACK PANTHER II’

Every now and then I come across some information the veracity of which can be confirmed by a second source. What happens FAR more often is that I come across some information that while believable and from trustworthy sources, cannot be confirmed by other sources for various reasons. Typically, when the second scenario occurs, I move on and forget about the information unless, in rare instances, it turns out to be proven true somewhere down the road.

This Thanksgiving week has served up a cornucopia of information that I have not been able to verify but that has come from trustworthy sources (read sources who have given previous information that has been confirmed) and I’ve decided to share some of these. It’s important to understand that, because I can’t verify these with a second source, I myself treat them as rumors which means, for the time being, I don’t believe them myself. It’s also important to understand that in each of these cases, the information provided would be spoilery if did turn out to be true. So please read at your own risk and please make an effort to represent what you’ve read here as nothing more than a rumor. These aren’t “hot scoops”, at least not yet. For now, they are nothing more than some compelling rumors that should generate plenty of great discussion among the MCU fan community. With that having been said, read ahead if you chose.

Things I heard this week: Doctor Doom will be the villain of Black Panther II when it hits theaters on May 6th, 2022.

Victor Von Doom will began expanding his empire, conquering parts of Africa and, ultimately, come into conflict with the nation of Wakanda and the Black Panther.

That represents the entirety of what I was told. That’s how it works sometimes. I was given no additional context, no additional details…nothing. At this point, you know what I know. From what I was told, however, one can begin speculating and having some fun thinking about how something like this might play out if it were actually true.

We don’t know when and where we’ll be introduced to Latveria or Victor, (a post credit stinger, a solo movie or in another film) but the events of Avengers: Infinity War and the 5 year jump in Avengers: Endgame provide ample opportunities for some exposition on the Latverian Monarch. Given the state of things after Thanos’ snap, it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine someone like Victor expanding his kingdom by taking advantage of the absence of world leaders and of most of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. If Victor survived the snap, it’s entirely possible that he could have made his way South through Europe, through the Middle East and into Africa by the time 2023 rolls around.

If the film does take place in the MCU’s present day (no information on that was given), it would mean that T’Challa is back on the throne of Wakanda just in time to help defend his people and his country’s most valuable resource: Vibranium. This is, of course, the reason Doom invades Wakanda in the 2010 event Doomwar, and you can very easily imagine Marvel Studios adapting this story to the big screen. While the comic featured characters from all corners of the Marvel universe, it could be told on a more intimate scale in the MCU and would have to be in order for it to be told on screen in a reasonable time frame. A big screen Black Panther: Doomwar would put the focus on T’Challa, Doom and, of course, Shuri.

Marvel Studios certainly has big plans for Doom. Feige was willing to meet with Noah Hawley and discuss his much-talked about script and while it doesn’t appear that Hawley’s script survived the Disney-Fox merger, it doesn’t mean that we couldn’t see parts of it in either a different Doctor Doom solo film or worked into whatever film Feige sees fit to use as Doom’s MCU introduction. Marvel Studios has yet to make a solo film for one of their villains, but if they were ever going to scratch that itch, Doom, one of their most fully-developed and fascinating characters, would be worthy of being the trailblazer. Additionally, Marvel Studios would be wise to make sure that their Doom and their Fantastic Four are presented as differently from the Fox films as possible, so introducing Doom on his own, using another villain for the Fantastic Four film and then having Doom try to take over the world in another film would be a great start. Obviously we need to see the Fantastic Four and Doom come into conflict eventually, but while Victor is the arch enemy of the First Family, he is also much more than that. Finally, using Black Panther II as Doom’s coming out party would all but guarantee another monster box office for the franchise while giving T’Challa an antagonist who could truly challenge him.

At this point, I’m thrilled to turn this over to you and see where it goes. To be clear, I have no idea if this is going to turn out to be the case, but it’s a fascinating rumor and, as a fan, I’d love to be a part of the discussion about how awesome it could be if it were true. Let me hear your ideas below and be responsible with how you share and present this to other friends and fans! Enjoy!