WMG / Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Pre-release theories

The identity of the new Black Panther.

• Shuri, due to the fact that Letitia Wright has been described as taking on a larger role in the sequel.
  • Plus, it's canon to the comics.
  • The new Black Panther has a noticeable lavender-purple light within the suit. Shuri is also seen wearing a very similar colored outfit in some of the film's marketing materials and toys.
  • Ultimately confirmed.
• M'Baku due to his Ensemble Dark Horse status. The fact that Winston Duke also apparently took on an increased role could lend credence to this theory, just like with Shuri.
  • Potentially Jossed. Disney Parks' upcoming version of M'Baku, still shows him with his previous Jabari Tribe clothing, instead of the Panther Armor. M'Baku's tribe also uses Gorillas as their sacred animal, which is a nod to his comic book counterpart of "Man-Ape".
• Queen Romonda: Since all her family died, she will don the cowl as a Death Seeker.
• An out there guess: the will of Wakanda or simply T'Challa's spirit.
• Killmonger, due to his Ensemble Dark Horse status. There are also rumors of the character returning, though in what capacity is heavily debated.
• Okoye, due to the fact that Ayo could take her place as the leader of the Dora Milaje (which could make her the focus of Coogler's spinoff series). The idea of a Black Panther using a vibranium spear would also be pretty damn cool.
• Bast will be reincarnated or choose an avatar to take up the mantle.
• Nakia, as the trailer opens with her standing on the beach wearing armor similar to that of the Black Panther.
• Bucky, also known as the White Wolf. Yes, he's not from the tribes of Wakanda, nor an individual of African descent, but he IS a super soldier. There's no more Heart-Shaped herb and, as far as we know, there won't be any more, so the protector of Wakanda, the Black Panther, must already be a super-soldier by himself, instead of being infused by an herb. From all the above, only Bucky is a Super-Soldier.
  • Potentially Jossed. In the concept art for Thunderbolts, Bucky is still wearing his attire from The Falcon and the Winter Solider and not the Black Panther armor.
• Namor: He will be revealed to be Half Atlantean by his mother part, and Half Wakandian, with his father being the late T'Chaka! Thus, he will be super human (A necesity, since Black Panther must be superhuman and there's no more Heart-shaped herb) and also from royal blood.
  • There are pressing reasons why this wouldn't happen, in-universe and out. For one, Namor is his own distinct Marvel character who could - and likely will - star in his own Sub-Mariner movie or series. In universe, he's already a leader of a foreign nation which, as we see in the trailer, comes into conflict with Wakanda. And Tenoch Huerta doesn't have African ancestry, so it'd be a blatant case of Fake Mixed Race. But, it may be considered during the movie.
• It will be a resurrected T'Challa, played by The Other Darrin.
  • Or even a multiverse variant of T'Challa, played by a new actor.
• With the second trailer giving a far better look at the new Black Panther, who is clearly feminine in figure, all the Male suggestions can tentatively be considered Jossed (tentitvely, because while unlikely, it is possible that the Trailer's Panther will either die or step down before the end of the film. And a third Panther emerging later).

The new Black Panther will be all of them via Collective Identity

All of the candidates (Shuri, Nakia, M'Baku) will have Black Panther suits and shift into the role depending on who has the time.

• Jossed. It's Shuri!.

Ayo and Aneka will become a couple.

• Like in the comics. It will also serve as an Author's Saving Throw for the character's prior exclusion.
• Alternatively, Okoye will be the one involved with Ayo. Or the film will center on a love triangle between Okoye/Ayo/Aneka.
  • This could be supported by the fact that Aneka wears blue in the teaser, the same colors as the Border Tribe in the first movie. She could've been given W'Kabi's role as Okoye's love interest after Daniel Kaluuya didn't return.

• Hinted in the movie with Okoye and Aneka, with the term "my love" used. The two also share a platonic kiss on the head.

Doctor Doom will be established in this film.

• Wild Mass Guessing, right? Given that Doom and Namor have a history of working together in the comics, it's not hard to imagine it being revealed that Namor could be allied with the unseen Latverian monarch, who's pulling the strings somewhere in this.

• Jossed.

The film will be very vague about how T'Challa died

• Out of respect for Chadwick Boseman, the film will not reveal how exactly T'Challa died and instead, they will keep it vague regarding the cause of his death.

• Confirmed, they only say it was a disease.

The Sequel will be focusing on Shuri

Given that Chadwick Boseman has passed away, with T’Challa only being mentioned, the sequel will be focusing on Shuri, meaning she will become the main protagonist of the sequel.

• Confirmed.

Shuri will become the main protagonist of the film

Given that Black Panther won’t be returning in the sequel, Shuri may likely be serving as one during part of the sequel.

• Confirmed.

Shuri won't be the one to take on the mantle.

• Because she will die in this movie. Romonda says her entire family is gone. But Shuri is literally shown in the movie. Why would she say that if Shuri is still alive? Shuri isn't the one taking up the Black Panther mantle and isn't making it out of the movie alive.

• Jossed.

Possible explanations for the "My entire family is gone" line

• Shuri dies during the plot of the film.
• Shuri and Romonda have a falling out that causes them to break ties, presumably leading to a reconciliation in the final act.
• The line is actually a flashback to the 5 year Endgame time skip, which reveals that Romonda survived the Snap and had to take up the throne with her children dead. Alternatively, it could be footage of her from that time. In either case it could be part of why she takes the throne, not Shuri.
• An incident occurs where Shuri is thought to be dead, which spurs Ramonda into declaring war on the Atlantians.
  • This is the closest one that is confirmed. What happens is that Shuri gets captured by Talocan (not Atlantis) and Romanda's rant is actually a Hidden Disdain Reveal.
• The line is a deliberate lie by Ramonda. She pretends that Shuri is dead, so Shuri can work undercover.
• The line is mere hyperbole. Ramonda is only referring to T'Chaka's and T'Challa's passings for dramatic emphasis. Or the trailer edited out references to Shuri, to prevent Shuri's storyline being spoiled.

Killmonger will return

• Option A: Killmonger's spirit will be in the Ancestral Plane, and the new Black Panther will consult him when they do the ritual to meet their forebears.
  • Confirmed! Although he wasn't who the successor wanted to see.
• Option B: Killmonger is still alive. True to his word, T'Challa buried his cousin in the ocean, where he was discovered and revived by Namor's people.
• Option C: A multiverse variant of Killmonger comes to the sacred timeline.
• Option D: Killmonger doesn't actually return, but appears as a hallucination, dream sequence, a AI, video or in a flashback.

"Atlantis" is not the underwater civilization's true name

It's the name assigned to them by outsiders, but it isn't what they call themselves. For one thing, "Atlantis" is a Greek name and everything about the casting and aesthetics suggests these merfolk are Mesoamerica-adjacent. Secondly, real-life Indigenous cultures are often mis-named by their colonizers; the so-called "Aztecs" would have called themselves the Nahua people. Thirdly, this specific sub-franchise treats names as important; see the shifting monikers of Erik Stevens / N'Jadaka / Killmonger for a clear example in the first film. Likely, the heroes will call it "Atlantis" and treat it like a mysterious and shadowy enemy; at the midpoint, Namor and his people will speak for themselves and assert their true name (possibly also giving plot-relevant information that explains why they've challenged Wakanda). From then on, they will either refer to it by its proper name (showing respect for their enemy) or continue to use "Atlantis" (to signal their disrespect).

• Confirmed. It's now known as Talocan, a corrupted version of Tlālōcān, an aquatic paradise of Nahua mythology.

The Atlanteans aren't naturally blue.

Atlanteans are blue-skinned in all shots set on land, but have various human skin tones in underwater scenes. The change in skin color may be part of the breathing technology they use to survive on land. Namor, due to some quirk of his origin story, is the exception and can breathe on land and water without a problem.

• The second half of this is confirmed by the source material, unless a massive deviation is taken in the adaptation: Namor can breathe air because he's half-human... or, more specifically, half-mutant.

• Well, they weren't blue before, being regular humans until the mutation that made them aquatic-based.

The movie will at least mention the "Mayanism" conspiracy theory.

During the era of colonialism, "Mayanism" was a racist theory that posited that the people of the Americas, particularly the Maya, were the "racially inferior" descendants of the people of Atlantis, and their Atlantean ancestors were actually the ones responsible for all those cities and temples. Clearly, this is nonsense and only got started out of the racist refusal to recognize Indigenous people's creative and cultural prowess. Still, it may warrant a mention given that this version of Atlantis draws on Meso-American aesthetics.

• The theory could provide Namor's reason for attacking the surface, as the wiping out of Indigenous people's influence on the world enrages him to the point of attacking the research team seen in the teaser for destroying a submerged piece of ancient architecture.

• Kinda. Talokan was built by Mayans-turned-merpeople, hence there are conflicts with the Spanish colonizers.

Related to the above, the movie will feature a Call-Back to Klaue's comment about Wakanda being mistaken for El Dorado from the first movie.

• Given the fact that Atlantis will derive much of its aesthetic from Meso-American cultures, Namor or one of his allies will mention how Spanish explorers were searching for Wakanda in South America.

• Jossed.

At one point, Namor will express wistful dissatisfaction that T'Challa has died.

• Whether it be due to Villain Respect or sadness that he wasn't able to challenge the supposed last Black Panther.
• It's only a brief moment in the film. Namor listens to Shuri relaying her grief over loosing T'Challa.

T'Challa death will match Chadwick Boseman's.

Much like Boseman's passing, T'Challa will pass away unexpectedly from an undisclosed terminal cause, that he kept quiet about.

• Confirmed.

Somebody will challenge Shuri over the throne, leading to another duel.

Much like the duel between T'Challa & M'Baku and T'Challa & Killmonger, somebody will challenge Shuri to a similar duel. Possible contenders would be M'Baku, Namor or potentially Aneka.

• Flip-Flopped. At the end of the film, M'Baku arrives at the challenging ceremony, saying he's there in Shuri's name to accept challengers.

The sequel will reveal that Nakia married T'Challa before his passing and she is now pregnant or is now raising his child as a single parent.

To parallel Killmonger and his father's early death, Nakia will be be shown becoming a single mother to T'Challa's child, after his passing.

• It's quite possible that she was already pregnant during the events of Infinity War. This would explain her absence during the Battle of Wakanda.
• Confirmed! She left Wakanda after the Snap (and subsequent Blip). She secretly raised her and T'Challa's son, T'Challa II in Haiti. Sadly, T'Challa Sr. didn't get to spend much time with his son, which mirrors Killmonger's past.

The film (or its sequel) will properly write out Dorothy Steel's character (the unnamed Merchant Tribe Elder).

Steel sadly passed away during the production of the film, making this her final film role. Steel's character appears to have made the final cut, with her appearing in the film's Teaser Trailer. The story may acknowledge her passing by the end of the movie or during it's third installment.

• Steel can be seen in the final cut of the movie.

T'Challa's death is explained something happening in regards to his revival in the first film

Namely, that one Heart-Shaped Herb wasn't enough to keep T'Challa fully alive and gave him limited time before he died once more.

• Perhaps T'Challa's temporary death removed the Heart-Shaped Herb from his system, meaning he was once again dying after being resurrected?
• It is stated that the lack of Heart-Shaped Herb, led to T'Challa getting a sudden disease and succumbing from it. Hence Shuri is trying to recreate it out of guilt.

T’Challa will still appear in some capacity.

Either as a flashback to when he and Shuri were children or through unused footage of Chadwick from the first film.

• Only through stock footage and a painted mural. Unless you count his son also being named T'Challa!

T'Challa's death will be related to the aftereffects of the Blip

T'Challa already died once, so maybe it will turn out something prevented him from being permanently resurrected.

• Jossed.

Klaw will be resurrected in a more comics-accurate form

Namor or another villain will resurrect him as an immaterial sound monster.

• Jossed.

Namor will be something of an allegorical character to Tezcatlipoca

Tezcatlipoca is a central deity in Nahua mythology who is associated with the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, hostility, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty, war, and conflict. His name is often translated as Smoking Mirror, and he is one of four Tezcatlipocas (the others being Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli and Xipe Totec). The MCU's take on Namor, as shown in the trailer has him wear an ornate jaguar headdress theorized to be connected to Tepēyōllōtl, who is in fact a deity linked to Tezcatlipoca's jaguar aspect. Also worth noting is the fact that Tezcatlipoca is something of a trickster who clashed with his three siblings often, most notably in the Five Suns myth. Assuming that Namor won't be too much of an Adaptational Nice Guy, this trickster nature could be adapted as a reverse of the original connection between Tezcatlipoca and Tepeyollotl, with Namor being Tepeyollotl's avatar and the trickster who clashes with people who share similar situations as him (the Wakandans, compared to the people of Talocan).

• Jossed, he's more associated with K'uk'ulkan, being Mayan and such.

Namor will get either a spin-off series or film

Considering that Namor has also been considered a major Hero in Marvel, it wouldn't be surprising for him to get a spin-off solo project, similar to other morally MCU gray characters like Loki and Wanda.

• Tenoch Huerta's role in MCU is hinted to be significant, as he is credited in the film with the "and Introducing" credit.
• Possibly Marvel Studios will continue the trend of stylized Special Presentations that began with Werewolf By Night and create an Invaders special, shot to be reminiscent of a World War 2 news reel, featuring Namor, a "returning" Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, the Howling Commandos, and an A-list actor as Jim Hammond, aka the original Human Torch.
• Jossed for now. Much like The Hulk, Disney doesn't own the entire film rights for Namor (Universal does). While Namor can appear in the MCU, Disney can only use him in associated Marvel properties (Black Panther, Avengers, X-Men) and not in his own tv series or film.

Namora will have a new costume in future Marvel projects involving her

It is likely that in future Marvel projects, Namora will get a new costume and that costume will look like hers in the original comics◊.

Storm will make an appearance

Marvel is teasing the X-men increasingly hard now, and this would be a good opportunity to do so yet again. It could be Halle Berry or Alexandra Shipp, a native MCU version or a variant from another universe, but Storm will appear in some capacity.

• Jossed.

Ramonda will be revealed not to be the actual biological mother to either T'Challa and/or Shuri

In the first film, T'Challa learns about the family secret that his Dad (T'Chaka) killed his Uncle (N'Jobu). To parallel this, the sequel will have Shuri learn another long kept family secret, that Ramonda is actually the step-mother to either T'Challa and/or Shuri. This would be a partial allusion to the comics, where Ramonda is actually T'Challa's step-mother, instead of birth mother. If Shuri learns that Ramonda isn't her real mother, Shuri will sever ties to Ramonda over the cover-up lie (similar to Loki's learning his true parentage). This will lead to Ramonda "alone", and her line of how her "entire family is gone".

• Jossed, though Shuri does learns that that T'Challa and Nakia have a secret son.

The baby being delivered in the Trailer is Namor.

The underwater birth and the scenes of Namor stepping out of the water, hints that this baby might be Namor as an infant.

• Confirmed by... you know... the wings on the baby's feet. A feature that, by and large, only Namor is really known to have in the context of the Marvel universe.

There will be a surprise cameo, that has yet to be announced.

The cameo will either be a pre-existing character making a crossover(like Bucky in The Stinger for the first Black Panther) or teasing a new character for Black Panther 3 (like the previous teases for Adam Warlock, Starfox & Pip, Clea. and Hercules).

• Well, there is a surprise in the stinger (T'Challa's son with Nakia!). But the most unexpected one in the movie itself appears in more than one scene... Countess Valentina!. And let's not forget about the surprise return of Killmonger!

There will be pressure on Shuri to get married and produce an heir.

With T'Challa dead, Shuri is the last surviving member of the royal bloodline (assuming Ramonda and T'Chaka weren't related).

• The Teaser Trailer implies that Ramonda is the official Queen of Wakanda, instead of 'Queen Dowager' or 'Queen Mother'. This could means that Shuri hasn't actually assumed the throne yet and Ramonda is serving in Shuri's place.
  • Indeed, Ramonda is the Queen. However, Shuri is never pressured into marriage.

Related to the above: The movie will end with Shuri marrying Namor.

The conflict between Wakanda and Talocan will be resolved with Altar Diplomacy.

• Jossed, they only become allies.

The movie, and by extension Phase Four, will end with the beginnings of a new Avengers team with Shuri and Namor as important members

As a way of proving that Phase Four was building up to something, it will be revealed that Wong has been appearing so much is because he's working with Doctor Strange and Nick Fury to keep an eye on the new heroes that have emerged since the battle for Earth in Endgame (Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Kate Bishop, Yelena Belova, etc) to prepare them for whatever cosmic threat may come for Earth after Thanos.

• Jossed.

The Stinger will reveal that Everett Ross was replaced with an imposter Skrull for the entirety of the film.

This will later connect back to Secret Invasion.

• Jossed.

Namor isn't the real Big Bad

Much like Talos in Captain Marvel, Namor will be treated to be the villian of the story. But the story will reveal that he's an innocent bystander and was Good All Along. The real villian is either:

• A known Resident of Wakanda who is going rogue to honor Killmonger's legacy or to revert Wakanda back to a closed off nation (Think Aneka or W'Kabi).
• It will be a government or entity that opposes Wakanda, after the country falsely posed as a 3rd world nation for centuries. This could be anything from the CIA, Global Repartion Counsel or even Damage Control. To add weight to this theory, during the Teaser Trailer, Wakandans are seen held hostage by an unknown militant group.
• The Skrulls working as puppetmasters to turn Wakanda againsts the residents of Atlantis, in order to easily infiltrate both groups.
• Namor's own subordinate Attuma, who is definitely a full-time villain in the comics.
• The war between Wakanda and Talocan was manufactured by proxy by another hidden kingdom, seeking to claim both territories after the war tears them both apart, as well as eliminate possible threats. That nation? None other than Latveria, and its MUCH anticipated monarch.

• Jossed, he's the villain here, albeit a sympathetic one to estabilish his Anti-Hero credentials for future movies.

Ayo will perform a Face–Heel Turn at some point in the film.

With Wakanda being so chaotic after the permanent death of T'Challa and Namor's invasion, Ayo may turn on her nation out of despair and/or spite. This would also match her up with her comic self.

• Alternately, it could be M'Baku, given his role as a villain in the comics.

• Jossed.

The new Black Panther suit will be some form of Powered Armor.

Since the Heart Shaped Herb was wiped out by Killmonger, so obviously whoever the new Black Panther is will not have the strength T'Challa had. Since the previous Black Panther suit already fit into the category of My Suit Is Also Super it is safe to assume that the new suit will be modified to give the wearer comparable strength to someone using the Heart Shaped Herb. This may explain Riri's role in the plot; as someone who reverse engineered Tony Stark's Iron Man suit, she may offer insights into upgrading the suit int this way

• Jossed. Albeit Shuri builds armor for Okoye and Ayo.

The heart-shaped herb, and by extension the Black Panther powers will be restored by Bast.

After the events on Omnipotence City where Thor called out all the gods present about neglecting their people, she may have realized that the Wakandans needed her and goes to Earth to help them.

• Jossed, it's by science (Shuri uses the Talokani herb and T'Challa's blood to get the closest possible chemical resemblance).

Valkyrie will make an appearance.

Presumably she has established a diplomatic relationship with Wakanda, so it would make sense for New Asgard to help them in a Gondor Calls for Aid scenario. If Bast were to return as mentioned above, she could be the one to seek her out now that it's established her horse can travel via portals. Her being one of the few prominent black avengers outside Wakanda is an added bonus.

• Jossed.

Attuma will be the real Big Bad (as suggested by a prior entry)... and Namor will make a Heel–Face Turn to reclaim his nation.

Namor will then be framed as "the good king" to Talocan, and be granted his classic Anti-Hero status as opposed to full-on villain.

• Jossed, he's just The Dragon.

Namor will be exiled from Talocan at the end of the film

Specifically to set up the MCU adapting the iconic 'Daredevil vs. Sub-Mariner' story.

• Jossed, even if there is some questioning for his actions.

Post-release theories

The disease in question was actually the Heart-Shaped Herb's low effectiveness waning

One Heart-Shaped Herb wasn't enough to bring T'Challa back from the brink of death (or outright death) and so he was Living on Borrowed Time that was extended thanks in part to Thanos' snap, hence why Shuri was so convinced that he could be saved by another Herb or why T'Challa was so eager to have a child so soon after the events of the movie.

Why Talokan appears to be much further behind the rest of the world when it comes to technology.

• Aside from the artificial sun, the water bombs, as well as the current that Namor activates, the nation appears to have a much lower level of technological development, especially when compared to Wakanda. There are multiple reasons for this:
• First - they're underwater. Such a thing would naturally mean working with electronics in general would be highly difficult, and unlike Atlantis, they don't have already-existing technology to work off of.
• Second - lack of contact with the outside world. Much like Wakanda, Talokan also cut itself off from the outside world - however, unlike Wakanda, they are unable to send agents out to infiltrate the outside world, with only Namor actually capable of blending in. Adding to this - Wakanda actually had a front set up to hide their advanced technology that still allowed them to interact with the outside world to a degree, while Talokan has none whatsoever.
• Third, Namor himself. He's close to 500 years old, having lived during the time of the Conquistadors, and his presence in Talokan may be inflicting some manner of Medieval Stasis on the kingdom as a whole, whether intentionally or otherwise.
• Fourth, the Wakandan tribes discovered Isipho and the Heart-Shaped Herb very early in the history of civilization, and, thus, the nation has enjoyed hundreds, if not thousands of years of access to them alongside regular development of tools and metallurgy. On the other hand, both the vibranium, and the plant that mutated the Talocan tribe, were underwater, making them much harder to find, and they went undiscovered until the sixteenth century. And even then, despite the Mayan people's own cultural advancement, they had to leave it all behind and start from scratch with basically only the robes on their back, lacking basic living tools, let alone efficient methods to extract and refine vibranium. That they have built a massive city with an artificial sun in only 400 years despite having no fire-based or chemical metallurgy is still an impressive feat.

The alliance Namor proposes between Talocan and Wakanda is foreshadowing an alliance with someone else.

• The average Talokan is physically superior to ordinary humans, and they have Vibranium weaponry. They don't have the numbers to take over the surface world without help. Wakanda's superior technology and intelligence about the world's defenders would give them an actual shot at it... but Wakanda isn't interested. However, there's another country that has both of those things, led by a man who is very interested in world domination, and who has been both ally and frenemy to Namor in the comics. If Wakanda doesn't go to them for help, perhaps Latveria will.

The new heart-shaped herb is stronger than the original

DNA of the Talokan variety was used to help recreate it but it may have taken even more than that, acquiring some characteristics from it and resulting in even bigger strength and some underwater capabilities. And as currently the situation between Wakanda and Talokan is more of an uneasy truce than peace, the discovery of a hybrid herb could mark a future era of collaboration.

How Shuri recreated the Heart-Shaped herb.

• It's worth noting that the Heart-Shaped herb and the plant used by the Talokani are very different - the Talokan one being a fibrous plant that grew underwater, while the Heart-shaped Herb is clearly land-based, meaning that aside from both being plants, they don't have a lot in common - that is, aside from the fact that both plants were mutated by exposure to raw Vibranium - meaning that the original form of a the Talokan plant is likely one of several local species nearby. Shuri may have applied this principle in reverse - first, finding the original species of the Talokan plant, studying the differences between the mutated and unmutated specimens, then applying similar mutations to a local species of flora that closely matched the actual Heart-shaped Herb.

Riri gets her Wakanda Armor back in Ironheart

Wakanda has been known to allow certain trusted outsiders to keep some of their technology, including Bucky and Sam.

• Also mirroring that instance, it's fairly likely the Wakandans mean to improve further on it.

Valentina is running the CIA as a Treacherous Advisor.

• Despite serving as an ally to heros and seeming to have the best interests at heart, Valentina's will be revealed to have a hidden agenda to take down pro-Avengers heroes. She ultimately plans to replace them with the Thunderbolts (who will do her bidding). This is the real reason on why she chose Yelena to go after Clint. Not just to get justice over Natasha or to complete a job. But rather to take out anyone who could oppose her power grab.

The upcoming Thunderbolts movie will be about Val sending her team into Wakanda to kill Everett

The movie ends with Everett being arrested for helping Wakanda, rescued by Okoye, and presumably given asylum in Wakanda. Now that we know Val is director of the CIA, she will not be happy about having a high-level agent defecting to another nation.

Val has placed a tracker on Everett.

She seems the type that would have seen a rescue attempt by Wakanda coming and found a way to use that to her advantage. She's heavily implied to have wanted to infiltrate Wakanda for access to their tech as well so it's possible the entire 'catch and release' of Everett Ross was an elaborate trap and Wakanda just fell into it. This may also cause Everett's loyalties to come into question once it's revealed that he's being tracked.

Riri Williams will make an appearance in a future Spiderman film.

Assuming there hasn't been a crazy time skip, Her time at MIT will overlap with that of MJ and Ned, who were accepted there in Spiderman No Way Home's ending. Given she's obviously heavily inspired by Tony Stark, who was Peter's direct mentor, that angle makes sense as well.

The source of the vibranium that gave rise to Talocan is the Chicxulub Meteor

• When trying to understand where Namor's vibranium could have come from, a theory is posited that, since the surface of the Earth is mostly covered in water, it's likely that another meteor could have splashed in an ocean. However, as per Namor's own narration of his origins, his mother's tribe lived in a Mayan city on the shores of the Yucatan peninsula, and his nation has outposts in what appear to be cenotes around the same region. It's possible that the meteor that famously caused the great K-T extinction event carried enough vibranium to leave significant underwater deposits in the area, and thus modify the plant life just as well as the Wakandan meteor did.
  • This would also explain why the US was looking there, in particular, for vibranium. The ocean is big, after all, if you're going to search the entire ocean, you'll be at it for a while. So if you know vibranium comes from meteors, it's logical to first search other known impact structures,

Namor has access to the internet

• Because, let's face it, knowing is half the battle. Where the hell did you think he got "Imperius Rex" from?

T'Challa's illness was caused by the Snap

• While (seemingly) everyone else who was Snapped and restored suffered no lasting ill-effects (beyond missing 5 years), T'Challa might be an exception due to the heart-shaped herb. The herb is mutated by vibranium energies, and its possible that the interaction of these vibranium energies in T'Challa's body with the energies of the Infinity Gauntlet caused a cellular breakdown in T'Challa after he was restored.

Prince T'Challa will appear as Black Panther in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

• Presumably, an Avengers film with Kang as the primary antagonist will involve time-travel and/or an Alternate Timeline or two. In which case, it's likely that we get an older version of Prince T'Challa showing up as Black Panther.

Namor's mom harbored the original X-Gene and Namor passed it around Earth

Namor in this movie is a mutant, likely the first mutant like he is in the comics. If his personality is anything like he is in the comics, he's likely seduced and impregnated many women from the surface over the centuries he's been alive, thus passing the X-Gene around the Earth and giving birth to the X-Men.

T'Challa suffered the same colorectal cancer as Chadwick Boseman

The Character Died with Him when Chadwick passed away from colorectal cancer. And when we saw the movie, T'Challa wasn't murdered by anyone. He was dying of an unknown disease that he never told anyone about. Kind of like how his actor Chadwick Boseman died in pre-production. Only, we know that Chadwick died from colorectal cancer. But it's possible that T'Challa died from the same kind of colon cancer as his actor.

• It doesn't seem in character for T'Challa not to tell people he is suffering from a terminal disease. As the Black Panther, he takes the protection of Wakanda seriously, and that could be seen as abdicating his responsibility, especially without preparing the country for his demise. Moreover, Wakandan medicine is extremely advanced compared to the rest of the world - maybe the MCU is different from the comics, but this troper distinctly recalls Wakanda having the cure for cancer.

T'Challa dies due to overuse of the Black Panther powers.

• Given Wakanda's previous status as an isolationist nation that's nigh impossible to find let alone conquer, that would seem to indicate that full use of the power given by the Heart-Shaped Herb has up until recently been a Godzilla Threshold, only deployed in extremely desperate situations. T'Challa has had need of its powers more than any previous user and has been in several protracted battles with it over a relatively short span of time (despite the five-year Time Skip, as far as his body is concerned, The Battle at Wakanda and the final battle against Thanos happened one right after the other.) This could have been putting a terminal strain on his body.

T'challa's fatal disease was congenital, and periodic consumption of the Heart-Shaped Herb had been the safest medicine.

• Keep in mind the herb itself contains trace elements of vibranium, and, vibranium being radioactive space metal, is probably the only semi-safe way for a human to consume it. With that gone, T'Challa may not have had much of a chance, or may have been forced to use riskier methods of infusing himself with vibranium which actually weakened his body further (much like cancer treatment tends to do in real life).

The movie's events were engineered by Kang in some way.

By the end of this movie, Wakanda has been greatly weakened, with their alliance with Talokan being a truce for convenience. After the Scarlet Witch wiped out many Masters of the Mystic Arts and the disbanding of the Avengers, Earth's superhero community has suffered a lot of losses in support, which makes it a lot easier for someone to come in and conquer the planet.

Either Attuma or Namora (or both) will betray Namor in the future.

Namora is very disappointed with Namor's decision at the end. This will cause her and Attuma to turn on their king and take on the surface dwellers themselves.

Sequel Theories

Shuri will become The Mentor to Toussaint

Val will sponsor a coup against the Wakandan monarchy

Apart from alluding to unsavoury actions the American government has committed in real life, this would also allow for a contrast with how the Black Panther movies have so far focused on external threats who seek to dictate how Wakanda should use its resources, as Val/the American government would be supporting an internal dissenter with their own perspective on how Wakanda should act. This coup might be spearheaded by Reverend Achebe, Aneka and Ayo—or even Okoye, having become embittered by her dismissal.

The Stingray armor will be created by the US to search for vibranium

Walter Newell could be introduced to fulfil a range of goals the American government would have after the movie: to find vibranium, to serve as a government-sanctioned armored hero, and to be part of the front line against a potential attack by Talokan, all setting up an appearance in Armor Wars.

Ryan Coogler will NOT return to direct Black Panther 3 or the third installment will be delayed to after 2026's Avengers: Secret Wars

With Ryan Coogler being heavily rumored to direct the sixth Avengers film, Coogler will likely be unavailable to direct Black Panther 3. He may stay on as an Executive Producer, like John Faverau in Iron Man 3. The other option, would be to delay Black Panther 3, until after production of Avengers: Secret Wars ends. But that could mean a 4 to 5 year gap between Black Panther installments.

• Directing more than one Marvel film didn't stop the Russo Bros. They were able to direct both Infinity War and Endgame back to back.
• Coogler himself has outright denied this rumor and indicated that he hasn't been made privy to anything about Secret Wars.

The villain in the Third Installment will be a resident of Wakanda.

Unlike the past two films, the third installment will feature a Wakandan as the villian, with W'Kabi being the most likely choice. The villain will be the opposite of Killmonger, and want Wakanda closed for the country's best interest. This will force the Wakanda Royal Family to reveal Wakanda's true power.

Wakanda will be severely destroyed in either the Third Installment, Avengers 5 or Avengers 6.

Much similar to Tony Stark's house, Asgard, Avengers Tower, or the New Avengers Facility, Wakanda will face a major threat that will Trash the Set. Wakanda will lose most it's technology and restart over, much similar to New Asgard.

The Third Installment will have Wakanda dealing with other rising “super-nations”.

With the introduction of Talokan and the series’ focus on geopolitics, the most logical step in terms of escalation would be having Wakanda face other new nations coming out of the woodwork, such as: Attilan, Latveria, and possibly even Genosha.

Possible Titles on what Black Panther 3

Since third film Black Panther has changed once it turned out to have the same original name as it's second film, it is likely that are possibilities for what Black Panther 3 will be called.

• Black Panther: The New Panther

Possible Villains who could or might appear in Black Panther 3

Namor was one of the villains, besides Val, have appeared in the sequel. With there being possibilities of there being a Black Panther 3, it is likely there are possibilities for which villains could appear in Black Panther 3.

• Valentina
• Doctor Doom
• White Wolf
• King Cadaver
• Man-Ape
  • He could be a Decomposite Character with M'Baku
• W'Kabi
  • He could have become further radicalized during his imprisonment, determined to carry on Killmonger's work.

Possible Heroes who could or might appear in Black Panther 3

Since Ironheart was one of the heroes (besides Everett) to have appear in the sequel, it is likely there are possibilities for different heroes that could appear in Black Panther 3.

• The Winter Soldier
• Storm
• Sam Wilson/Captain America

Possible Ideas on Black Panther 3

With their being possibilities of a third Black Panther film, there are possibilities of what could happen, focused on, or who will be introduced.

• It can focuse on Nakia or Toussiant.
• It can have a Big Bad who could serve as both an Arch-Nemesis to Nakia s well as become a magnificent opponent to Shuri.
• Valentina attempting to take over Wakanda.

Shuri will have a new arch-enemy in Black Panther 3

Since She and Namor already made amends with each other, including their tribes. Since she has already let out her grief, it is likely and possible that she will have a new arch-enemy in Black Panther 3.

Black Panther 3 will focus on either Nakia or her son, Touissant

Because of how Black Panther focuses on T'Challa and Black Panther 2 focuses on Shuri, it is likely the third Black Panther film will be focused on either Nakia or her and T'Challa's son, Touissant.

If Toussaint ever becomes a hero, he WON'T be a Black Panther

He might feel like the pressure of assuming the mantle is too much, and instead will form his own identity. Perhaps he'll take after Anubis and have a canid theme.

• He could even become the MCU's version of the White Wolf.
• On a more humourous note, he might also be motivated by not being a cat person.