The final film in Marvel’s Phase 4 sees Ryan Coogler return to Wakanda and the filmmaker clearly wanted to give it everything for this Marvel movie sequel, because he even learned to swim for Black Panther 2.
Coogler did a good job, too, if you take the word of Charlotte Colombo and our Black Panther 2 review. The fact this MCU movie exists at all is a bit of a miracle, really, considering the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, meaning the role of the titular MCU character would have to be handed over to someone else in the Black Panther cast this time around.
In a recent interview with Variety, Coogler revealed that being able to swim was something he and members of the cast had to learn in order to help facilitate the introduction of Marvel villain Namor the Sub-Mariner in this superhero movie.
“A lot of us were raised to have fear of water,” Coogler explained. But he wasn’t prepared to stand around and look at a screen, he wanted to be in the action. “If the camera’s in the water, actors are in the water, I’ve got to be in there too. I had to figure out how to swim, so I could direct this movie.”
Now that’s commitment to the cause. Whether Coogler will return for Black Panther 3 remains to be seen. Rumour has it, he may have his hands full with a different project in the MCU, like Secret Wars.
If you’ve seen Black Panther 2, you may be interested in our interview with Nate Moore, the producer of the film. Or, learn more about the comic book that paved the way for the MCU’s Black Panther.