It's no secret: Marvel Studios' Black Panther is taking the world by storm.

The film is getting rave reviews from all manner of critics, it's proving a hit with fans and it's smashing box office records. One of Marvel's boldest, most striking and unique films, Black Panther has lit a fire that will continue to burn when we re-visit Wakanda a in May's Avengers: Infinity War.

But, we're here to look beyond that. We can only assume that an announcement for Black Panther 2 is just around the corner, but that would be years away at least, and well beyond Marvel's current slate of Phase 3 movies. That's simply too long to wait to return to T'Challa and his allies.

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What better way to keep the Black Panther fire burning than by continuing his adventures on the small screen? After all, Marvel did it once before, launching Phil Coulson into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. only four months after 2012's The Avengers hit theaters. What's more, Disney is already planning to debut its own exclusive streaming service, a perfect platform for a Marvel Cinematic Universe-based show. A new series starring Wakanda's finest would be the perfect selling point for many to join the Disney service from the get-go.

As for what form this hypothetical series could take, the answer finds itself in Marvel's comic books. Perhaps the best way to follow-up on the Black Panther film while the iron is still hot is to spin its characters off in a television series that is inspired by the Black Panther and The Crew comic book.

Black Panther Luke Cage Manifold Storm Crew

Black Panther and The Crew, written by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Yona Harvey, and illustrated by Butch Guice and Mack Chater, ran for six issues in 2016, a spinoff of Coates' main Black Panther series. As part of Marvel's All-New, All-Different era, Coates created a new version of the Crew team, which had originally been created by Christopher Priest and Joe Bennett. Priest's team consisted of War Machine, Kasper Cole, Justice and Junta, but Coates closely associated the modern version of the team to Wakanda by making Black Panther their new leader.

Joining T'Challa on this new team were the X-Man Storm, Luke Cage, Misty Knight and young mutant Manifold, himself a former member of Nick Fury's Secret Warriors team. The series took the Panther out of Wakanda and into the concrete jungles on New York. More specifically, Harlem. These five heroes were pulled together thanks to the death of a Harlem activist they all shared a connection with, and now they had to band together to unearth a dangerous conspiracy that threatened all of Harlem. This is a book that was much more Defenders than Avengers. The scope of the superheroics were smaller, street-level -- perfect for television.

The Crew Luke Cage Storm Misty Knight Manifold

The series was heavy on character and politics, and spoke to the current status of society, of racial tension and cultural divide. It was socially-conscious, and it was empowering, telling a message of strength and unity, of identity and self-worth. Each chapter was told from the perspective of a different lead character, helping paint a full picture and giving different point-of-views on politically-charged subjects. Ryan Coogler's Black Panther film was very much the same. It showed us differing views in T'Challa's and Killmonger's, and it was all about African American pride and identity. A spinoff series based on Black Panther and The Crew could therefore perfectly follow the themes established by the film. And, with the added benefit of more screen-time, it could dive even deeper into them.

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Although the comic series was short-lived, the potential for a television series is incredibly strong. We've already seen that the first season of Netflix's Luke Cage, which is entirely set in Harlem, was incredibly well-received. Now, with the unparalleled success of Black Panther, the stage is firmly set for more Marvel shows highlighting Black culture. But of course, some of the logistics would have to be figured out first.

Chadwick Boseman would first have to agree to a television production schedule. However, with the way he has shown how important the role is to him, we wouldn't put it past the actor to agree to reprise his role on the small screen, especially if his role is kept to a smaller one. Then, there is the matter of Netflix. Even with Disney's own streaming service, Marvel's Netflix series are set to remain where they have always been: on Netflix. The various series, yes. But that doesn't mean Luke Cage and Misty Knight wouldn't be able to jump from one show to another. Marvel has already shown its capacity to bring movie characters like Nick Fury and Lady Sif to television on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., so it seems entirely plausible for them to use the characters they have to their fullest potential, should legal agreements allow.

And finally, we come to the mutants, Storm and Manifold. Of course, the situation is a bit more complicated there. Disney is currently in the process of purchasing all of Fox's assets, including the X-Men characters. While the acquisition is not a done deal yet, it seems like the X-Men are bound to return home in the near-ish future. Should the deal go through in the next year-plus, then the cast of the Crew would be complete.

And if the red tape associated with the rights to some of these characters would prevent Marvel from bringing the full cast of Black Panther's The Crew to the screen, then they could always replace one or two. Letitia Wright's Shuri proved to be a fan-favorite in Black Panther, and would be a welcome face to follow in episodic adventures. Danai Gurira's Okoye is another, though that could be complicated by her role on AMC's The Walking Dead.

RELATED: How Marvel’s Black Panther Sets Up a Sequel

Black Panther is an unprecedented movie experiencing a groundbreaking reception. This success is an important milestone, and should pave the way for a whole lot more. A Black Panther and the Crew series is the perfect way to continue that trend.


In theaters now, Black Panther, directed by Ryan Coogler, stars Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue, Winston Duke as M’Baku and Forest Whitaker as Zuri.