Filmmaker Ryan Coogler has revealed new details about the unreleased Black Panther 2 script, describing a 180-page draft he completed before Chadwick Boseman died in August 2020. Boseman was too ill to read it, according to Coogler. The notes show an original pitch for a post Blip story in which T’Challa returns after a five-year absence to reconnect with his son Toussaint. The concept opened with Nakia and Toussaint discussing the boy before cutting to the night the Blip ends, returning T’Challa to fatherhood while bearing a world saving burden. The plan also included a ritual for the eighth birthday that would bind the prince to his father during eight days in the bush, a test of listening and obedience that would set up the adventure.
Coogler further described the script as featuring a dramatic clash with Namor under a different vision of the Atlantean antagonist. The Ritual of Eight required the prince to go eight days without tools and to answer every question the father posed; during those days Namor launches an attack, forcing T’Challa to juggle negotiations, defense and the safety of his young son. The project was given the codename Summer Break and cast the father and son into a high stakes survival arc that would unfold in Wakanda and beyond.
Chad Boseman’s passing fundamentally reshaped the franchise. Coogler rewrote Black Panther 2 to center on T’Challa’s sister Shuri and to explore grief as Wakanda Forever moves the MCU forward. Black Panther 3 is officially in development, with Denzel Washington in an unannounced role. Coogler has said Panther 3 would come after his current work on an X-Files revival for television, a project that would balance Monsters of the Week episodes with a larger conspiracy arc.
On Boseman, Coogler spoke about their relationship as deeply meaningful and protective. He recalled that Boseman supported him during the toughest days on Panther and that the loss of Boseman left a lasting, and to some extent irreparable, impact. The actor’s strength and generosity are described as having shaped the approach to the franchise’s future rather than inhibiting it.
Overall, the interviews paint a portrait of a filmmaker committed to telling stories he loves, guided by heart and a steady eye on the long arc of the Black Panther saga. Panther 3 remains in development, and Coogler’s schedule now centers on a forthcoming X-Files revival before the next chapter in Wakanda continues to take shape.