Marvel Studios is slated to begin production on Black Panther 2 in Atlanta starting July 2021, with Narcos: Mexico star Tenoch Huerta reported to play a villain.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett will return for the sequel to 2018's Black PantherLetitia Wright's Shuri is reported to play a larger role after the passing of Chadwick Boseman.

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a busy 2021 on the books, with multiple film and TV projects in development. However, a source for THR revealed the slate of Disney+ series are a priority for Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. "The series are the priority," the source said. "Ramping them up takes a lot of focus. The movie machinery is well established."

Last week, Marvel Studios Executive Vice-President Victoria Alonso revealed that the company had no plans to use CGI digital effects to replace Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther 2. "There's only one Chadwick and he's not with us," she said. "Our king, unfortunately, has died in real life, not just in fiction, and we are taking a little time to see how we return to history and what we do to honor this chapter of what has happened to us that was so unexpected, so painful, so terrible, really."

"Because Chadwick was not only a wonder of a human being every day for the five years that we spent together, but it also seems to me that as a character what he did elevated us as a company, and has left his moment in history," Alonso continued. "I know that sometimes two months go by or three months go by in production and you say, 'Well, it was a long time.' But it is not a long time, we have to think carefully about what we are going to do, and how, and think about how we are going to honor the franchise."

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Boseman passed away in August at 43 after a years-long battle with colon cancer. The actor had been diagnosed with the disease in 2016, but kept his diagnosis a secret from the general public and from Marvel Studios. Boseman was fighting the disease during the filming of Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Black Panther 2 is slated to begin production in mid-2021, with a targeted release date of May 6, 2022.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter