Columbia Pictures initially tried their hand at a Black Panther film starring Wesley Snipes, but that project never came to fruition.
Black Panther was the first character that Marvel Entertainment reacquired when they launched Marvel Studios in 2005.
And while a Black Panther film was always a priority for the studio, it didn’t actually enter production until after Chadwick Boseman made his debut as T’Challa in Anthony and Joe Russo’s Captain America: Civil War in 2016.
And by doing so, Homecoming and Black Panther were able to step out of Iron Man‘s shadow, something that was increasingly difficult for Marvel.