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When will Black Panther: Wakanda Forever be released on Disney Plus? Right now the short answer is: we don’t know, but we suspect we do January 2023.
After the theatrical release, you may be wondering when the 30th Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie will join its siblings on one of the world’s best streaming services. Below, we take a look at when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is likely to launch on Disney Plus, using the platform’s other Marvel movie releases to gauge when it might make the jump from the big screen to the small screen.
Before you dive in, be sure to read our spoiler-free Black Panther: Wakanda Forever review. When you’re ready, read on to find out when Marvel Studios’ Black Panther 2 could hit Disney’s streamer.
When is the Disney Plus Black Panther 2 release date?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever does not have an official release date for Disney Plus. The MCU Phase 4 movie has only just landed in theaters, but we think it will arrive in January 2023.
That’s based on what we know about the releases of other Marvel movies on Disney Plus, so we can imagine that release window as when the superhero movie could be available to stream at home.
First, Marvel movies don’t launch on Disney’s streaming platform immediately after their theatrical release. Each MCU movie has a worldwide exclusivity period of 45 days in theaters, meaning it won’t be released on Disney Plus for more than six weeks.
If Black Panther 2 were to hit our TV screens exactly 45 days after November 11, it would launch on Monday, December 26 — a day after Christmas Day, for those celebrating that holiday.
However, that December 26 launch is incredibly unlikely. For starters, Marvel hasn’t released any of its post-Avengers: Endgame movies on Disney Plus so soon after their theatrical release. The only outlier is Black Widow, which got a day and date launch in theaters and on Disney Plus in July 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, Disney traditionally releases new movies and TV shows on Wednesdays. That format was temporarily changed for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the latest MCU TV show, which debuted on Thursday (Aug. 18). That was due to the midweek release of new episodes of Andor, aka the latest Star Wars TV series. Obviously, Marvel and Lucasfilm didn’t want their tentpole franchises competing for viewers on the same day.
So if Black Panther 2 follows Marvel’s traditional Wednesday launch for Disney Plus releases, it’s coming out on Wednesday, December 28, right? It’s plausible, but not very likely – and Eternals holds the key to why.
The 26th MCU film was released in theaters on November 5, 2021, but was not streamed on Disney Plus until January 12, 2022. Marvel co-released Spider-Man: No Way Home (alongside Sony Pictures) in December 2021. So it’s clear that Marvel didn’t want to release Eternals on Disney Plus during No Way Home’s theatrical run, as it might have distracted fans from going to see No Way Home in theaters.
But even if that were the case, we don’t expect Marvel to bring Wakanda Forever to Disney Plus until after New Year’s Day 2023. The Disney daughter will release her Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on November 25 on Disney’s streamer Won’t Want Black Panther 2 to clash with its second TV special presentation.
Plus, Wakanda Forever is sure to work wonders at the global box office. So it’s not in Marvel’s financial interest to end the theatrical run and release it for free on Disney Plus until after the holidays.
Is there an end credit scene in Black Panther 2?
Yes, but there’s only one post-credits scene—not two—in Wakanda Forever.
We’ve laid out what that mid-credits stinger means for the Black Panther film series (and wider MCU) in this Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ending and post-credits scene explained article. It takes a deep dive into the more spoiler-like elements of the film, so only proceed if you’ve seen the film.
What is the runtime of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever lasts two hours and 41 minutes. That includes the single after-credits scene and the two series of credits.
Interestingly, this makes Black Panther 2 the second longest MCU movie of all time. It’s only surpassed by Avengers: Endgame’s three-hour runtime, while being four minutes longer than the divisive Eternals movie.
For more Wakanda Forever based content, check out our “Who is Namor?” and “Who is Ironheart?” explainers. Or find out how to watch the Marvel movies in sequence, with Black Panther 2 in the MCU timeline.