Director Ryan Coogler Reveals Black Panther 2 Was ‘Meant To Be A Father–Son Story’

Director Ryan Coogler has opened up about his first plan for the Black Panther sequel and how it changed after the sudden loss of Chadwick Boseman in 2020. Chadwick, who played King T’Challa, was meant

to lead the next chapter with a strong and emotional story. Coogler had planned a powerful arc that focused on T’Challa and his young son, showing their bond and the future of Wakanda.

In the early idea, the story began with a sacred ritual when Wakanda came under attack by Namor. This moment was meant to test T’Challa as a father and a king. After Chadwick’s death, the director reshaped the film with care and respect, which later became Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022. Even in the final version, Namor stayed as the main rival, played by Tenoch Huerta, who will return in Avengers: Doomsday.

Ryan Coogler Reveals His Original Plan For Black Panther 2

While appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Ryan Coogler explained, “It was like a 180 page draft, but you know what the big thing about the script was that it was this thing called the ritual of eight, where when a prince is eight years old, he has to go spend eight eight days in the bush with his father and amongst those eight days, they don’t have they have to go into the bush without any tools. The prince has to listen and do everything that’s asked by his father. But the rule is for those eight days, the prince can ask the father any question and the father has to answer.”

“It was during the course of those eight days, Neymar launched an attack. So, that was what the movie was. In that script, he had to deal with somebody who was like insanely dangerous, but because of this ritual, his son had to be like joined at his hip the whole time. While he was engaging in negotiations, fights and his son had to be right there or stay. I have to violate this ritual, which has never been broken. So that was the movie. It was insane and Chadwick was going to kill it. But life goes as it goes,” the filmmaker added.

About The First Version Of Black Panther 2

Ryan Coogler shared that the first version of the sequel was completed at a time when Chadwick Boseman was very unwell. Because of his health, the late actor was not able to read the script. Soon after, his passing changed everything and the film was rebuilt from scratch. This led to the making of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in a very different form.

Even so, Coogler said he had deep love for the original story. He had written it with great care, hoping to give Chadwick a bigger and richer role. By then, Coogler felt he understood Chadwick’s range as an actor. Looking back, he felt that the first Black Panther only showed a small part of what Chadwick could do. The sequel was meant to explore his talent in a much deeper way.

The future of Black Panther is still unclear and Marvel has not shared any clear plans yet. But one thing is confirmed. Namor will return to the big screen in Avengers: Doomsday and the film is scheduled to release in December 2026.