One significant event is the passing of Chadwick Boseman who plays King T’Challa aka Black Panther. The sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever mirrors this with the passing of T’Challa as a central part of the plot. Marvel has so far refused to recast the role of Black Panther with Kevin Feige stating that it was too soon. With these developments, fans have been asking where Black Panther 2 fits in the MCU timeline. There has been a lot going on since the events of the first film. In a recent interview with CinemaBlend, Marvel’s Nate Moore clarifies when Wakanda Forever takes place in the timeline. “This movie clearly happens after Spider-Man: No Way Home and Eternals,” Moore explains. “I think it probably happens concurrent with Thor: Love and Thunder, New Asgard does exist in our film for instance, and almost concurrent with Ant-Man 3, which is coming out next year.” Moore doesn’t exactly pinpoint the year in which Black Panther 2 happens but it is very specific in telling fans that it is after No Way Home and the Eternals. According to Marvel experts, Eternals takes place in November–December 2023 while Spider-Man: No Way Home happens in November–December 2024. With this information, we can assume that the year is 2025 when Black Panther takes place. Thor: Love and Thunder also take place in 2025 as New Asgard has been mentioned in Wakanda Forever. For reference, Avengers: Endgame took place in 2023 in the MCU timeline which according to Feige is also when the Avengers disbanded. The continuity has been key to Marvel’s success. Each film is linked to the others in its current phase and the overarching narrative called “Saga” which is composed of three phases. Criticism has been thrown at Phase 4 which seems to be very loose in terms of continuity. Thor: Love and Thunder was the subject of the most criticism as it appeared to have little connection to any of the previous films. Fans are also curious to see how Wakanda Forever ties into the bigger MCU timeline. The loss of T’Challa should also have a great impact on the MCU as Black Panther was very instrumental during the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Also being the final feature film of Phase 4, fans are eager to see how the Black Panther sequel sets up the next film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. It would be very interesting to see the link between the two films as Marvel often relies on post-credits scenes for tie-ins. Unfortunately, Wakanda Forever only has one “emotional” post-credits scene. For now, we at least know that Black Panther 2 happens in the same timeline as its contemporaries. We will find out how it ties into the greater MCU and the Multiverse Saga when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in theaters next week, November 11, 2022.
