Danai Gurira Jokingly Teases Killmonger's Return in 'Black Panther' Sequel

Black Panther saw Erik Killmonger's debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, immediately becoming a [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

Black Panther saw Erik Killmonger's debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, immediately becoming a fan-favorite villain. Unfortunately, his death at the end of the film seemingly rules at future appearances of the character, though star Danai Gurira joked that the character will return in the sequel.

When asked by Variety for secrets about the upcoming sequel, Gurira began to laugh and said, "Killmonger comes back," before actor Michael B. Jordan replied, "You did it now," teasing her about igniting speculation surrounding his character's return.

While the return of the character seems unlikely, it's tough to rule out the concept completely. The film hasn't been definitively confirmed, at least in regards to earning a release date, though director Ryan Coogler and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige have regularly detailed that the project was on the horizon. It's possible that, while it will likely be a sequel, that we could get flashbacks to an earlier time in the MCU where we get a glimpse of the villain in some capacity.

Black Panther became a sensation almost immediately, with 2018 also seeing the release of Avengers: Infinity War. That film saw the deaths of many beloved heroes, some of which have already been confirmed to appear in upcoming films. This year's Avengers: Endgame will likely see a display of either time travel to prevent the events from occurring or see the dead characters revived in some way. In that regard, it's possible that similar devices could be used to revive Killmonger, despite his final moments displaying the villain accepting his fate.

Whatever the future may hold for Killmonger, we don't expect to see the character come to life in the MCU in any substantial way in the future, especially given the emotional toll the villain took on Jordan.

"It was one of those things that I didn't know what was going on," Jordan shared with The Bill Simmons Podcast. "I never was in a character for that long of a period of time and was, I guess, that dark, that lonely, that painful. So coming out of it, I thought, 'Oh yeah, business as usual. I can just go back home, I'll cut my hair off, and everything will be back to normal.'"

While viewers might have empathized with the villain's motivations, Jordan admitted that embodying the Killmonger persona wasn't an enjoyable experience.

"I found myself kind of in the routine of being isolated and went out of my way to make sure I was by myself and didn't say too much more than the usual," the actor continued. "Once I got finished wrapping the movie, it took me some time to talk through how I was feeling and why I was feeling so sad and like a little bit depressed."

Stay tuned for details on Black Panther 2.

Would you like to see Killmonger return in some way? Let us know in the comments below!

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