- - Ryan Coogler details original “Black Panther 2 ”script, says Chadwick Boseman was 'too sick to read it' before his death

Emlyn TravisDecember 29, 2025 at 5:45 PM

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Marvel Studios Chadwick Boseman in 'Black Panther'

Ryan Coogler is shedding light on his original plans for Black Panther 2.

The Sinners director, 39, confirmed on a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he had finished a 180-page script for the follow-up to Marvel’s 2018 smash hit prior to Boseman’s tragic death from colon cancer in 2020.

“Honestly, what happened was, I finished it and he was too sick to read it, bro,” Coogler told host Josh Horowitz. “That was kind of how that timing was. He was at a place where it wasn’t gonna happen.”

Boseman’s death forced Coogler to completely reimagine the superhero sequel into what would eventually become 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Still, the filmmaker explained that he “loved” the original script, which would’ve allowed him the space to truly showcase Boseman’s talent.

“I put so much into that version of the movie because I felt like I had gotten to know Chadwick as a performer,” Coogler said. “I threw a lot at Chad in the first Panther, but I realized I was just scratching the surface. It was like a dump truck on him.”

Paul Bruinooge/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Ryan Coogler and Chadwick Boseman at a 'Black Panther' after party on Feb. 13, 2018 in New York

He explained that the original 180-page draft explored a father-son story between T’Challa (Boseman) and his child (played in Wakanda Forever by Divine Love Konadu-Sun).

“The big thing about the script was a thing called the Ritual of 8 where, when a prince is eight years old, he has to go spend eight days in the bush with his father,” Coogler elaborated. “Amongst those eight days, they have to go into the bush without any tools, and the prince has to listen and do everything that’s asked of him by his father, but the rule is for those eight days, the prince can ask the father any question and the father has to answer.”

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It’s during those eight days that Namor (Tenoch Huerta) would’ve staged his attack.

“It was a different version of Namor in that script,” Coogler noted. “[T’Challa] had to deal with someone who’s insanely dangerous but, because of this ritual, his son had to be joined at his hip the whole time while he was engaged in negotiations, fights, and s---. His son had to be right there or they’d violate this ritual that had never been broken.”

He continued, “So that was what the movie was. It was insane. And Chad was going to kill it, but life goes as it goes.”

Coogler also addressed his upcoming third Black Panther installment, noting that he isn’t “making movies to prove anything” at this point in his celebrated career. “I’m telling stories that I want to tell, that I’m obsessed with, that I feel a burning desire to do,” he said. “It’s a movie that I’m incredibly excited about, so that’s really the truth of it.”

He also spoke about his "very interesting" relationship with Boseman, whom he recently honored at his posthumous Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.

“He meant a lot of me, but I found out after his passing from his family and his friends about how much I meant to him, which f---ed me up pretty good,” Coogler admitted on the podcast. “I wonder if he knew how much he meant to me. I did wonder.”

Listen to Coogler discuss Sinners, Black Panther, and more in the video above.

on Entertainment Weekly

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