Is ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Available to Stream? When Will the MCU Sequel Come to Disney+?
The highly-anticipated sequel to 2018’s “Black Panther” is almost here. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” will hit theaters on Friday, Nov. 11. The superhero and cultural event will be the perfect choice for anyone trying to shake off the post-Halloween blues, and Disney is hoping for big pre-holiday box office returns.
The film, which was produced following the tragic passing of original star Chadwick Boseman in 2020, will focus on the characters mourning the death of Boseman’s King T’Challa, while also dealing with a new external threat in the form of Namor, who rules an underwater kingdom. Ryan Coogler returns as the director for his first movie since the original “Black Panther,” and the cast includes Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Damai Gurira, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett.
The film is getting good buzz from critics, currently sitting at 86% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus points to a movie that offers both a stirring and poignant tribute to Boseman and his character, while at the same time advancing the story of the MCU as it moves through the end of Phase 4.
Watch a Trailer for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’:
So, fans are undoubtedly wondering when the film will hit Disney+, the company’s streaming home for all things Marvel. The studio has not announced a date for “Wakanda Forever’s” eventual streaming release, but as usual, the company’s past releases might offer clues as to when fans can expect to be able to watch the sequel from their own homes.
Unfortunately, Disney has not been following any hard-and-fast rules with its theatrical windowing for MCU films lately. “Eternals,” the MCU film released late last year, hit theaters on Nov. 5, 2021 and landed on Disney+ on Jan. 12, 2022 — 68 days later. Similarly, the Marvel film that immediately preceded “Eternals” was “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” and it arrived on streaming after a 70-day window. The studio’s most recent release “Thor: Love and Thunder” got 62 days in theaters before making its streaming debut on Disney+ Day on Sept. 8 this year.
However, this spring’s MCU installment, “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” was released in theaters on May and then reached Disney+ on June 22, a window of just 47 days.
There are also non-MCU considerations that come into play with “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” hits theaters on Dec. 16, and the company has high hopes for the film. The “Doctor Strange” sequel likely had a shorter theatrical run to clear the way for “Thor: Love and Thunder,” which was released in cinemas two weeks after “Multiverse of Madness” came to Disney+.
However, since the release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and the long-awaited “Avatar” sequel are just a month apart, there’s no way for Disney to rush “Black Panther” to streaming before James Cameron’s mega-sequel comes to theaters.
So, with all of that taken into consideration, it seems likely that “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” will be in theaters for at least 70 days. That would make its Disney+ debut date on or around Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. While that seems like a long time to wait, if the film sees the financial success that the first “Black Panther” did, it could remain in theaters even longer. However, January 20 is our current best guess for when you’ll be able to stream “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” on Disney+.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”