Hollywood / Marvel's 'Black Panther' sequel shoot to begin in July 2021: Reports

Hollywood Desk: Marvel Studios has seen an empty year as it was the first with no new release movies since 2009, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apart from that, the studio has also been tasked with finding out how to move forward with one of its most popular characters 'Black Panther', following the death of its star Chadwick Boseman.

The studio is now preparing to kick off production on the Black Panther sequel next July in Atlanta, after the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman in August, as well as the Hollywood shut down back in March.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the sequel was originally intended to begin production in March of next year. But Boseman's untimely passing at age 43 left Marvel and writer/director Ryan Coogler navigating grief and how to move forward.

The new film will see Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett returning. According to fan websites and course of the comic, Wright's character Shuri is rumoured to be taking on a larger role, after fans urged the studio to have her don the Black Panther costume as the superhero's successor.

Although Marvel has not revealed how they plan to move forward with the story, they have indicated that they don't intend to include the late Boseman via CGI.

The news of the new production date comes with the announcement that Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta is in talks to join the new installment as the main antagonist.

As 'Black Panther 2' is one of the first of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 4 films to go into production, amid the massive COVID-related delays, the studio is preparing for 2021 to be its busiest year, with their push into TV.

In March, they're beginning production on their shows 'She-Hulk' (starring Tatiana Maslany) and Oscar Isaac’s 'Moon Knight'. Meanwhile, the WandaVision spin-off starring Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany's Vision hits the streaming platform January 15. The studio is working to complete production on 'Loki' and 'Falcon and the Winter Soldier', which began before the lockdown in March.

They also recently kicked off production in Atlanta on Ms. Marvel, starring newcomer Iman Vellani. 

On the feature side, 'Spider-Man 3' and 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' have begun filming.

And Taika Waititi’s sequel 'Thor: Love and Thunder' is set to begin production in Australia in January, with 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' and the new 'Ant-Man' film starting production in sometime in 2021. 

Marvel Studios has made 23 movies in 12 years, raking in $22.55billion globally, with its wildly successful intersecting stories.

Black Panther became the franchise's highest grossing solo film in 2018, making $1.35billion worldwide, thanks to its long-overdue Black representation.