Between having the titular battle between beloved Avengers, introduction of a certain friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, and having Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo back at the helm, there’s a lot to get excited about in Captain America: Civil War. But one of the most compelling new elements in Marvel’s big superhero smackdown is the debut of Chadwick Boseman‘s sovereign son of Wakanda, T’Challa, aka Black Panther. With T’Challa’s introduction comes, not only an overdue on-screen incarnation of one of Marvel’s most beloved heroes, but an entirely new realm and mythology that comes with the kingdom of Wakanda.

While fans will get to meet Boseman’s Black Panther when Civil War hits theaters next month, his solo film isn’t too far down the pike. Creed director Ryan Coogler is set to helm Black Panther, which is set to arrive in theaters February 16, 2018. While that’s a ways off in terms of release, it’s already in heavy pre-production, and filming is just around the corner. While speaking to MCU head Kevin Feige for Captain America: Civil War, I took the opportunity to get some updates on the status of Black Panther.

Here’s what Feige said when I asked if they had locked in a finished script,

“Very soon. We have a number of writers on it including Ryan Coogler, who is also directing, he’s working on the draft right now. Between now and the end of the summer there will be more casting announcements. We start filming at the very beginning of next year.”

This is the first we’ve heard that in addition to directing, Coogler is also co-writing the script, but it’s not entirely surprising given that he wrote both of his previous directorial features Creed and Fruitvale Station. Marvel is about to amp up their release schedule to three films a year, which means they’ve got a whole lot on their production schedule. Doctor Strange just wrapped filming very publicly last week in the streets of NYC, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is currently in production in Atlanta, and Thor: Ragnorok set to begin this summer in Australia.

Click here for the rundown on all the upcoming superhero movie release dates, and check out our latest Black Panther coverage in the links below.

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