Kevin Feige says the return of Killmonger in Black Panther 2 is “pure rumor”

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Today audiences will be able to witness the end of Marvel’s epic Phase 3 with SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, and come the end they will be wondering just what the hell the team behind the series has in store for the future. While not much has been confirmed, we can assume the future will include a sequel to the wildly successful BLACK PANTHER, which on top of making $1.3 billion worldwide was the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. Yeah, that seems worthy of a follow-up, and while speculation has abounded Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige wants us all to know the nothing about the movie is solidified yet, especially whether or not a certain baddie will return.

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As more and more people talk about the possibilities for BLACK PANTHER 2, a rumor started to spread that somehow, some way, the villain Erik Killmonger (played by Michael B. Jordan) will return for more bad guy deeds. That’s hard to believe, given how the character died at the end of the first movie. Granted, in this world death is not always the end. But for now, Feige spoke with BET and said it’s all rumor, as returning director Ryan Coogler hasn't even finished lining out where he wants the movie to go.

“Pure rumor. The honest answer to that is that is pure rumor and speculation, because Mr. Coogler is just only in recent weeks sitting down at his keyboard and beginning to outline the movie. It’s early, so nothing is set yet in any way that far, because Mr. Coogler is sitting down and will share it with Nate Moore and myself in coming weeks.”

Much of the Killmonger rumor milling was started when star Angela Bassett was talking to Entertainment Tonight (via Uproxx) and she said she “assumed” the whole cast would be returning, only for her husband, actor Courtney B. Vance, to add “Yes, just go ahead and say it, yes! Everyone will be there, including Michael B.” This was hardly a confirmation from a top source, but people took it and ran with it nonetheless.

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However, it still seems like there’s a lot to do in the planning stages, even though Feige did say last year that they have a “pretty solid direction” as to where they want to go with a sequel. True to character, he didn’t give any details about where the sequel is going, but the events of ENDGAME certainly left things wide open for any character to come back via the time travel element. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was killed in INFINITY WAR, but after certain events in ENDGAME, we could be seeing more of him soon.

Jordan's Killmonger became a fan favorite villain very quickly, and that's not just because he was a solid villain in a sea of so-so Marvel baddies. Charming, ruthless, motivated by a passionate and relevant ideological stance and was a perfect foil to Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa/Black Panther, so it's easy to see how people would be excited to think he was coming back. But many Marvel villains from the comics have come in for one round, been defeated, and that's the end of it. Perhaps Killmonger will be an exception and could return for more, somehow, but we will just have to wait and see if more "Hey, auntie" is in the cards. 

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME is in theaters today!