Winston Duke wants M’Baku to be the villain in Black Panther 2. The first Black Panther took the world by storm upon its release two years ago, earning over $1 billion at the worldwide box office and becoming the first comic book film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. A sequel seemed inevitable, but the official announcement came later than expected. Black Panther 2 was finally confirmed and slated for a 2022 release last August, and since then, news regarding the movie has been few and far between as Marvel focuses on their other projects.

In October, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger revealed writer-director Ryan Coogler had only just begun to outline the story. Despite that, fans have wondered exactly what the film will focus on, as well as who the villain might be. A popular choice is Namor the Sub-Mariner, with fans eagerly promoting their various picks for the role. However, nothing has been officially confirmed, leaving the role wide open.

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant promoting his new Netflix film Spenser Confidential, Duke was asked who he wants the villain of Black Panther 2 to be, and his answer was simple: “M’Baku.” M’Baku is the leader of the Jabari tribe within Wakanda, and while he and T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things (to the point of them engaging in a duel for the throne atop Warrior Falls), M’Baku has fought alongside T’Challa multiple times. Duke explained what he finds so fascinating about Marvel villains and why he thinks M’Baku would make a good one by saying this:

The clashing ideologies between T’Challa and M’Baku would certainly make for an interesting conflict, especially since Wakanda is now open to the entire world. Additionally, T’Challa died in Avengers: Infinity War following Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) Snap while M’Baku lived. This means M’Baku has spent five years living (and possibly gaining more power) in a Wakanda without T’Challa, leading to the possibility of greater friction between the two.

[M’Baku] is a hero, but he has so much going on. I think what makes a really great villain is that they have the power of seeing things their own way, and they can define their own circumstances.

And that’s what’s really cool about all the MCU villains so far as well. Loki always sees things his own way, and he chooses when he’s going to be an ally or an antagonist. Thanos always had the power of self-definition. That’s his greatest strength. It wasn’t the rings, it wasn’t his superpower or the fighting. It’s that he made his mind up and said, “This is how I define justice.” Because he wasn’t a bad guy; he’s just a dude who was seeking ultimate justice and balance. That’s not bad. But he defined it himself, and all the really great villains that Marvel interrogates always have that ability, so they can go anywhere.

Regardless of who the villain of Black Panther 2 is, they will have some massive shoes to fill. The first film’s villain, Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), is widely considered one of the best Marvel villains of all time due to his motivations and intense commentary on slavery and white supremacy. That’s not to say that the antagonist of Black Panther 2 will automatically be considered worse than Killmonger, but it’s inevitable that comparisons will be made. With Black Panther 2 still two years away, what will happen is anyone’s guess.

More: Black Panther 2: Every Character Returning For The MCU Sequel

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