A lot of criticism has been aimed at the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s frequently disappointing villains, and with good reason. For a long time, there was a very high chance that the antagonist of any of the studio’s films would be either a shady businessman with nefarious intentions, a former friend or ally of the hero that had turned to the dark side and essentially become an evil mirror version, or someone with a direct tie to Tony Stark.
Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger may have ticked at least one of those boxes in Black Panther, but the actor’s performance and the way the character was positioned in the narrative made him one of the MCU’s most complicated and complex bad guys yet. The best villains are the ones who believe that their actions are completely justified instead of being evil for the sake of it, and Erik Stevens definitely fit the bill.
He was overlooked, forgotten and angry about how his life had turned out, so he takes matters into his own hands to overthrow the kingdom he feels he has a rightful claim to. It was a fantastic arc with a performance to match, even if it came off the rails a little bit during the climactic third act battle due to some subpar CGI.
Despite dying at the end of the first movie, there’s now a new rumor claiming he’ll return for the in-development sequel. No further details or information have been offered, though, and this is far from the first time we’ve heard something similar. Still, we’d advise taking it with a grain of salt for now. After all, Black Panther 2 already faces enough challenges as it is in advancing the story without leading man Chadwick Boseman, never mind returning to the well, as great as it would be to see Jordan back in the MCU.