If you saw the news that Ryan Coogler is leaving Disney for Netflix and assumed that meant he’s walking away from Marvel, here’s the correction: he isn’t.
His next movie is Black Panther 3, and he’s still very much in business with Marvel Studios on the film side.
The Netflix deal Coogler’s Proximity Media just signed is an exclusive television pact. It governs where his production company develops new series. It does not touch his movie work, and it has nothing to do with the Wakanda sequel he’s been building for years.
Black Panther 3 Is Still Coogler’s Next Movie
This isn’t a rumor, and it isn’t wishful thinking. Coogler already said it himself.
Speaking at a Deadline Contenders panel last November, Coogler confirmed Black Panther 3 is his next film.
“If it was anybody but you, I would say, ‘I can neither confirm or deny,'” Coogler said when asked about the project. “But we’re working on it hard. Yeah, it’s the next movie.”
That’s the part getting lost in the Netflix headlines. Coogler didn’t say he was finished with Marvel. He said the opposite. He’s working on Black Panther 3, and reports have indicated his pitch for the threequel has generated real excitement inside Marvel Studios.
That is not what a Marvel exit looks like.
When Does Black Panther 3 Start Filming?
That part is still not locked.
Production has been expected to begin as early as 2026, while insider Jeff Sneider has pegged the start for “the top of 2027” in time for a possible February 2028 release.
That date lines up with one of Marvel’s previously announced untitled release slots, and it would place Black Panther 3 after Avengers: Secret Wars closes out the Multiverse Saga in late 2027.
Still, treat the exact timing as a target, not a guarantee. Marvel release dates move all the time. The bigger point is that Black Panther 3 remains active, and Coogler remains attached.
Wakanda Is Already Back In Avengers: Doomsday
Coogler’s Disney TV exit also doesn’t slow down Wakanda’s place in the wider MCU.
The Black Panther side of the franchise is already returning in Avengers: Doomsday, with Shuri, M’Baku and Namor all part of the crossover.
So Wakanda is active on two fronts: the massive Avengers team-up first, then Coogler’s solo sequel after that.
Denzel Washington Is Still Expected For Black Panther 3
Then there is Denzel Washington, which further confirms Coogler’s involvement in the MCU.
Marvel has not made Denzel’s casting official, but Washington himself is the one who let it slip, saying Coogler was “writing a part” for him.
Coogler has since backed that up.
Coogler Left Disney TV, Not Marvel Studios
The Netflix move is a TV story. Black Panther 3 is a movie story. They do not cancel each other out.
Coogler is taking his series development to Netflix while staying with Marvel Studios on the film side, where his next movie is still Black Panther 3.
So no, Ryan Coogler is not done with Marvel. He left Disney’s TV pipeline. Wakanda is still next.
