Black Panther 3 Reportedly Puts T'Challa's Son on a Coming of Age Path, With Mutants in the Mix

New details about Black Panther 3 have come from industry insider Alex Perez at The Cosmic Circus. According to Perez, the prince introduced at the end of Wakanda Forever is the son of T'Challa, and going forward he'll just be called T'Challa. Perez also says the film reportedly involves a coming of age story about inheriting the title of Black Panther, plus themes Ryan Coogler wanted to include around the astral plane and mutants.

Later in this piece I get into exactly which mutant I think they're alluding to with Black Panther 3.

Alex Perez reports T'Challa's son will simply be called T'Challa

Perez and The Cosmic Circus editor in chief Lizzie Hill have been a cornerstone of the Marvel scoop game for pretty much as long as I can remember. No scooper has gotten everything right, but as far as the track record they've established over the last half decade, I'd put them right up there with Jeff Sneider and DanielRPK.

In his latest question and answer, Perez said the young prince from the end of Wakanda Forever is T'Challa's son and will just go by T'Challa. On Shuri, he said it's far too early to tell. But a few details he says he has been told about Black Panther 3 involve a "coming of age story with heavy emphasis on legacy" and what it means for the new T'Challa to inherit the Black Panther title. There has also reportedly been some talk about Nakia not wanting him to be the Black Panther or inherit the throne.

Perez added that there are some interesting things he can't disclose yet, but that Ryan Coogler wanted to incorporate several themes in his next installment, including supernatural connections to the astral plane and mutants, not just Namor.

Why I think Damson Idris may already be the new Black Panther

This news comes at an interesting time, because we're all pretty sure the new Black Panther's introduction is lined up for Avengers: Secret Wars. The recent updates point to that film being where Marvel Studios brings in a lot of firsts: the first time we see Mahershala Ali's Blade, Sadie Sink's Jean Grey for a second time, perhaps new X-Men characters, and new characters across the entire MCU landscape. Marvel Studios is making that the reboot.

I'm pretty sure Damson Idris already has the role. He was seen approaching a restaurant when someone walked up and asked him to sign what I think is a Black Panther mask or a comic. He signed it, the man said "Congratulations on the Black Panther role," and he didn't tell him no. No celebrity owes anyone an answer, and it doesn't for sure mean he's Black Panther. But signing a Black Panther prop or comic book and not being Black Panther would be wild, and I don't think he'd do that. Concept art has also had him in the Black Panther costume.

So I believe the casting of T'Challa has probably either been happening, is close to happening, or has already happened, because I expect he'll be in Secret Wars, which was filming at the time of writing. I'm not saying I know for sure that Damson Idris is Black Panther, but "I'd be very surprised if he's not." I'd be even more surprised if a Black Panther wasn't introduced during Avengers: Secret Wars.

A coming of age story could clash with a Secret Wars debut for T'Challa

To me, the most interesting part is how Coogler will explore a coming of age story about inheriting the mantle. If this character has already been the Black Panther at the end of the Multiverse Saga, wearing the mantle and fighting Doom alongside the other heroes, it feels like the coming of age story will have already happened. That will probably make him come of age.

Marvel Studios may go the other way. With the recent report of an Illuminati team that won't be called the Illuminati, there could be a Black Panther on that squad who gets used through Secret Wars, leaving Coogler to explore the whole coming of age story afterward. But based on the facts as I see them, that would kind of be the opposite of doing a reboot and bringing everyone together for the first time in Secret Wars.

There's also the comics. At the end of Jonathan Hickman's Secret Wars, T'Challa grabs an Infinity Gauntlet off the dead Doctor Strange alongside Namor and uses it to lead an army of Marvel zombies against God Emperor Doom and defeat him. He's the main protagonist, and pretty much every piece is on the board right now. Namor is in the mix, and Doctor Strange is probably not going to survive either of these films. There's a really good chance they may use Black Panther in some similar way. If that makes Coogler alter how much of a coming of age story he does, there are still plenty of ways to explore it, like what it means to be a king and not just carry the mantle as a warrior.

Shuri, the astral plane and the Midnight Suns

I really haven't stopped to think where Shuri would land on a list of who might die. She's in Avengers: Doomsday, we know that for sure, and there's a real good chance her contract already has her in Secret Wars too. So I'm not sure when and how the mantle will pass. But not using Black Panther in Secret Wars, where you're truly introducing all of the new characters, would be such a miss. I know that doesn't leave Coogler a lot of room for a coming of age story, but there are still plenty of ways to do it.

The supernatural connection to the astral plane also makes me wonder if it's leaving a door open for Black Panther to be in the mix with the Midnight Suns. I consider that almost assuredly confirmed, in the wake of Marvel not doing Blade and with Mahershala Ali's Blade now expected to be part of Secret Wars. When Oscar Isaac was last asked about it, he said they all know what's up with the Midnight Suns, but that it takes a serious tone, and nailing that tone was about making sure they do it the right way. It's a much more serious thing than the goofiness of his show or some of what we've seen in the MCU.

Black Panther 3 is likely one of the first films after Secret Wars

Black Panther 3 has already been said to be one of the earliest films in preproduction for the next slate. Coogler has publicly said he's working on the script, and he talked about recruiting Denzel Washington almost 24 months ago. Of all the movies moving like racehorses across the track, I think it's probably the closest to done and one of the first out of the gate, released in theaters in the first couple of years after Secret Wars. Maybe not the very first film, but one of them.

That comes down to Marvel Studios' priorities, the contract they have with Coogler, and the fact that he's their known commodity. Looking across the directors and writers Marvel has been using, I wouldn't call their credits weak, that's the wrong word. They're just thin, and a lot of that work is TV. Coogler is one of the hottest directors in Hollywood and has proven he can take his own IP and make it extremely profitable at the box office.

If Marvel wants the follow up to Secret Wars to be as financially successful as Endgame, it will need strong outings right off the bat. That means not repeating mistakes like releasing a prequel that was way past its prime, or a movie like Eternals when all we really wanted was to find out who the new Avengers were.

Mutants in Black Panther 3, from Doctor Doom to Storm

Coogler said he wanted to bring mutants into this back when Marvel didn't even have the rights. Black Panther has been in so much publishing that he's fought everybody, so on a villain level there are many options. But the one that immediately comes to mind, the one he's fought against the most and quite often, is Doctor Doom himself.

That makes me curious about the next Avengers movie. I'm more convinced than ever that, in my own little world, Marvel may do a Secret Wars part two with Doom as the villain, not the year after Secret Wars but down the road at the end of the next saga. Giving Doom two sagas as the main villain just seems like something they would do. I can't believe they'll introduce Doom with Robert Downey Jr., build his backstory, have him defeated in Secret Wars and leave it there in less than 24 months. The X-Men do have their own rogues gallery to explore, including some who haven't been adapted, like Mr. Sinister, who probably should be. But Doom is a fundamental big bad of the MCU with tons of crossings with Black Panther.

Introducing a key member of the X-Men or another mutant who needs an introduction would be the easiest way to start tying this together as a mutant saga. And the obvious choice is Ororo Munroe, Storm, who T'Challa has had a relationship with since they were teenagers. Bringing her into Black Panther 3 would give a young orphan like Storm a chance to team up with a young T'Challa and establish their backstory, so that when they finally marry, like in the comics, it actually means something because we'll have watched it grow over five or eight years on screen.

With a new Black Panther and new X-Men arriving at the same time, I think Marvel has an opportunity to do amazing things. If they stick to the core material and adapt it properly for the screen, I think we're in for an awesome MCU revival over the next 10 years. Here's to hoping whatever mutant they choose serves the story and builds to something, the way the end of the Infinity Saga gave us hit after hit like Ragnarok and Infinity War. At the time of writing, it felt like we were approaching that again, starting with Spider-Man a month out, which I expected to smash unless the box office projections were completely off.

Part of me wishes Denzel Washington weren't too old, because a Denzel Washington Black Panther would just be too good. Realistically, though, I think he's got to be playing the villain. Maybe not, but that's my guess.

Who would you want to see as the new Black Panther?