Black Panther 2: Martin Freeman Confirms Marvel Return, Addresses Loss of Chadwick Boseman

The world is still shaken by the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman late last year, and the incredibly difficult task of finding a way to continue the Black Panther franchise without its beloved star falls on the shoulders of writer/director Ryan Coogler. The filmmaker is putting in a ton of work to rewrite the upcoming Black Panther 2 in the wake of Boseman's death, and it looks as though the pieces are beginning to fall into place. While it has been assumed that the majority of the supporting cast from Black Panther would be returning for the sequel, we now know that co-star Martin Freeman is officially coming back for the second installment of the series.

Freeman played Everett Ross in the first Black Panther film, a role he reprised from Captain America: Civil War. During an interview with Collider, Freeman confirmed that he is indeed returning for Black Panther 2, though he doesn't know what the movie is going to be about.

"Yeah, I am doing the second Black Panther. I'm going to be speaking to Ryan Coogler soon about what shape that's going to look like," Freeman explained. "I have no idea about the script [so] I don't know what's going to happen."

It's impossible to talk about Black Panther without talking about Chadwick Boseman, as the late actor inspired everyone on set and around the world with his portrayal of T'Challa, and embodied the best traits of the iconic hero in his everyday life. Freeman went on to talk about the loss of Boseman, and how it affects the making of Black Panther 2.

"Just before Chadwick died, if my memory serves correctly, the script had gone in. They had the script and they were working on the script, and then Chadwick died, and [I] sort of immediately thought, 'Oh, okay, I could see a world where there's no Black Panther then, because how can you do a Black Panther without Black Panther?' So, I still don't know what that's going to look like. And no, obviously, before Chad died, the idea of doing it without him would have been a stupid idea. It would have been crazy. It was very shocking, and still is very, very strange, that he is not here. So, I'm as curious as you are to see what that will look like and I find out quite soon. All I know is that I'm in it."

There has been no word yet regarding the direction of the story in Black Panther 2, but Marvel has confirmed that the role of T'Challa will not be recast.

Black Panther 2 is set to hit theaters on July 8, 2022.