Another day, another Marvel rumor. This time, the potential director for Avengers sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, is the subject of the day, with a rumor claiming that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler is being eyed to helm the epic MCU outing. Coming courtesy of The Weekly Planet Podcast, host James Clement aka Mr. Sunday Movies claimed that a source had informed him that the Black Panther filmmaker is one of the top choices to direct the sixth Avengers installment.
Ryan Coogler being brought in to direct Avengers: Secret Wars certainly does make a lot of sense, with the filmmaker having helmed Black Panther, which remains one of the most successful MCU outings both critically and financially.
“And Ryan Coogler, here’s another scoop, Mason, is at the very least one of the directors, is currently in talks for Secret Wars. Which makes a lot of sense and yeah, the source here says, this is a reliable source, this person says ‘a fairly obvious choice.’ And it is. That makes sense.”
Giving Coogler the job of helming Avengers: Secret Wars would also track with what Marvel Studios has planned for its predecessor, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. It has now been confirmed that Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton will take charge of the Avengers sequel, with the studio clearly liking the idea of bringing back reliable talent for further Avengers adventures.
Avengers: Secret Wars was confirmed to be in development at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022. Not much has yet been revealed regarding the plot, but we can assume that the Avengers sequel will be based on the 2015 comic book arc written by Jonathan Hickman with artwork by Esad Ribić, which finds each universe’s respective Earth combining with each other into ‘Battleworld,’ a planet that exhibits the aspects, heroes, and villains of the various universes.
Ryan Coogler Will First Helm Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
While Coogler returning to the MCU for Avengers: Secret Wars is merely a rumor at this stage, the director will once again stand at the helm for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will reflect the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, with the official synopsis for the Marvel sequel revealing that both Boseman and T’Challa’s presence will permeate the movie. “In Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,’ Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death,” the synopsis reads. “As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.”
Starring Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, and Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is scheduled to be released on November 11, 2022, as the final film in Phase Four of the MCU.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, meanwhile, is scheduled to be released on May 2, 2025, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to be released on November 7, 2025.
