Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's Eye-Popping Runtime Suggests A Sprawling Epic

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" may be one of the most hotly anticipated projects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet. Director Ryan Coogler's blockbuster sequel to 2018's "Black Panther" will invite viewers to the hyper-advanced civilization of Wakanda once again and reunite them with numerous fan-favorite characters. It's also going to be an emotional outing, as starring cast member Letitia Wright called "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" a "beautiful love letter" to Chadwick Boseman, after the "Black Panther" star's tragic death in 2020.

Recent MCU releases like "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and "Thor: Love and Thunder" have roughly clocked out around a lean 2-hour runtime, but those worried that "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" won't have enough meat on its bones can rest assured. New information suggests that the sequel is going to be long — really long. Here's what the expected runtime for Marvel blockbuster is and where it stacks up among the greater world of recent superhero flicks.

Fans took notice when sites for several movie theater chains, such as Regal, listed "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" with a runtime of 2 hours and 41 minutes. Following the spotting of the information, The Direct reported that Disney confirmed the listings as accurate.

The length of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" gives it the distinction of being the second-longest MCU movie to date, behind 2019's "Avengers: Endgame" at 3 hours and 1 minute. In comparison to some other recent superhero efforts, the film beats out 2021's "The Eternals," which spans 2 hours and 37 minutes, and it rivals the jaw-dropping runtime of "The Batman," which goes for 2 hours and 56 minutes.

The extended runtime of the film suggests that it will be diving deep into each and every one of its plot threads, of which there already appear to be many. The movie will see Letitia Wright's Shuri stepping up into a more heroic role, Angela Bassett's Queen Ramonda mourning the loss of her son T'Challa, Dominique Thorne making her MCU debut as Riri Williams aka Ironheart ahead of her own Disney+ series, and Tenoch Huerta's Namor launching an all-out attack on Wakanda, just to name a few major points.

Overall, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is shaping up to be an exciting epic that goes further in-depth with its narrative than the original movie. Fans should just expect to be sitting in that movie theater chair for quite a while.