Marvel Studios and Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 2 is on the horizon, and there are some key characters missing from the first Black Panther who could show up in the sequel. The first film, which was directed by Coogler and written by Joe Robert Cole, followed T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War as he attempted to grapple with his newfound responsibility as King of Wakanda. His efforts were directly challenged by Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), a CIA agent and military insurgent with big plans for Wakanda and its resources.

Marvel’s Black Panther was a massive critical and commercial success, grossing well over $1 billion at the box office and quickly becoming the third highest-grossing film of all-time domestically, alongside several nominations at the 2019 Academy Awards. Critics and audiences praised the movie for its mostly black cast, the extensively researched production design, and the nuanced approach taken to its central villain and his imperialist agenda. Kevin Feige himself has talked at length about how long he had personally been trying to get a Black Panther film off the ground, and from the immense cultural impact that the film has had since its release, it’s safe to say that Feige, Coogler, and all the filmmakers involved got to make the movie they so desperately wanted to.

Black Panther’s huge impact all but guaranteed a sequel, and on August 24, 2019, Kevin Feige and Ryan Coogler officially confirmed Black Panther 2 for a May 2022 release date, with Coogler confirmed to return. The first movie leaves the story wide open to explore many different directions, as the conclusion finds T’Challa officially revealing Wakanda’s true nature to the rest of the world. This is a decision that is certain to be met with controversy in the fictional country as well as the far reaching corners of the MCU, and there are certainly a number of characters who could be introduced in the aftermath of such a massive decision.

Namor the Sub-Mariner

The son of Princess Fen of Atlantis and a British explorer, Leonard McKenzie, Namor the Sub-Mariner grew up in his mother’s undersea civilization and was groomed from birth to become the next heir to the underwater city of Atlantis. Due to the unusual nature of his birth, Namor is actually widely known as Marvel’s First Mutant, because part of his superhuman abilities come from his hybrid nature, while some of them, such as his ability to fly, are unexplained by either side. Namor has teetered the line of hero and villain several times before, fighting alongside Captain America and the original Human Torch back in World War 2, but coming to blows with several recognized heroes throughout his storied history. This is usually due to his abrasive and high-class nature, as his status as a member of the Atlantean Royal Family makes him feel superior to surface dwellers who he believes may pose a threat to his kingdom.

Namor’s biggest connection to Black Panther is a rivalry that formed between them in the aftermath of the storyline Avengers vs X-Men. In it, Namor alongside several other members of the X-Men gained the powers of the Phoenix Force, and Namor raised a massive wall of water in an attempt to flood Wakanda and kill several Avengers who were hiding out there currently. Namor nearly destroyed the kingdom and killed hundreds of thousands of innocents, in an event that would destroy his relationship with T’Challa and lead to the King of Wakanda inevitably retaliating by razing Atlantis to the ground.

While the nature of their history would have to be majorly changed, Namor could serve as a great antagonist for Black Panther 2, due to his own unique position as the king of a major civilization. Namor has long been teased in the MCU, and a line from Okoye in Avengers: Endgame strongly hinted at his presence near Wakanda, so there’s already some groundwork for his appearance in Black Panther 2.

Doctor Doom

Another ruler of a fictional country within the Marvel Universe, Victor von Doom is widely considered to be one of the greatest villains in comic book history. Born to Cynthia von Doom, a sorceress who made a deal with Mephisto that went terribly wrong, Doctor Doom is a vessel of power in a metal shell. Not only is he one of the most intelligent minds in the Marvel Universe, he’s also one of the most accomplished sorcerers as well, a perfect meld of supernatural expertise and sinister cunning that makes him a formidable foe of the Fantastic Four as well as the Avengers.

However, he’s also had his fair share of spats with T’Challa and Wakanda, the most notable of which played out in the 2010 arc Doomwar, which saw Doctor Doom covertly invade Wakanda in order to steal the nation’s reserves of vibranium. While it may be a little too early for the MCU to attempt to adapt Doomwar, there’s always the possibility that they could use elements of the storyline in a potential first appearance for the character. Introducing Doom as the villain in Black Panther 2 would also be a smart way of Marvel debuting their Fox characters, ahead of a later appearance from the Fantastic Four, allowing Doom to be a much bigger, overarching bad guy in the MCU.

Kraven the Hunter

A villain more notable for his frequent clashes with Spider-Man, Kraven the Hunter could also make an appearance in Black Panther 2 if some rumors are to be believed. Sergei Kravinoff was born to a Russian aristocratic family that came to an untimely demise as a result of the Russian Revolution. Because of his family’s dissolution, Sergei took up the name Kraven the Hunter and turned to big game hunting as a way to recapture the nobility once held by his family. While in Africa on business, Kraven took an herbal potion from a Voodoo witch doctor named Calypso, which boosted his physical prowess to that of a jungle cat, giving him the strength, speed, and agility he employs in his fights with superhuman characters such as Spider-Man. Kraven, in his search for a worthy hunt, has crossed paths with T’Challa several times before, and Ryan Coogler even asked to include Kraven in Black Panther’s first film.

Kevin “Kasper” Cole

A one-time replacement as the Black Panther when T’Challa was in a self-imposed exile, Kevin Cole is the son of a no-nonsense black cop and a Jewish mother who followed in the footsteps of his father’s profession. Kevin was nicknamed “Kasper” by his peers on the police force due to his light skin tone, but he was generally well respected among his friends within the New York City narcotics department. Desperate to move up the ladder within the police force, Kevin started organizing unauthorized drug busts, drawing the attention of a crooked Lieutenant named Sal Anthony within the force. Kevin also started to wear a confiscated bulletproof Black Panther outfit underneath his uniform instead of standard-issue vest, but when he became distinctly aware of just how corrupt his department had become, he began wearing the costume in order to take down Anthony as well as various street gangs in New York.

It was eventually discovered that Kevin’s fight against corruption was part of a conflict between T’Challa and his adopted brother Hunter, a mercenary and former member of the Wakandan Secret Police. This brought Kevin into T’Challa’s inner fold, and he quickly retired the Black Panther costume in exchange for a new mantle: the White Tiger, a name given to acolytes of the Panther Cult religion within Wakanda. While it doesn’t seem as if Marvel has any desire to retire the character of T’Challa just yet, with Wakanda going public to the world, there’s a strong possibility that a sequel could introduce the character of Kevin Cole if most of the action takes place in America.

Storm

Despite her long-time affiliation with the mutant superhero team the X-Men, a lot of people have been desperately waiting for any sort of confirmation that Storm may appear in a sequel to Black Panther. While the first movie subtly hints at what may end up being a rekindling of the romance between T’Challa and Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia, a lot of comic book fans are hoping that Marvel Studios introduces Storm as a love interest for the King of Wakanda. The two characters were married in the aftermath of the House of M event, and Storm became not only a member of the X-Men but a part of the Wakandan Royal Family, a role that Professor Xavier believed was tremendously important to mutant/human relations.

While the two characters are no longer together in comics, Storm & Black Panther’s relationship was sustained for years and saw both T’Challa and Storm weathering major events together, such as DoomWar and Avengers vs X-Men. While there has been no official word on whether or not fans will see this pairing on the big screen, there’s always a chance that Marvel may want to use the relationship as a building bridge for their inevitable introduction of mutants into the MCU. What fans know for sure, however, is that Black Panther 2 promises to be bigger and perhaps even better than the original, and Marvel will certainly aim to surprise fans with whoever they plan on introducing in the film.

More: Black Panther 2: Every Character Returning For The MCU Sequel

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