In June 1992, Wesley Snipes announced his intentions to make a film about the Black Panther. By August, Snipes had begun working on the film. In July 1993, Snipes announced plans to begin the Black Panther after starring in Demolition Man. Snipes said in August 1993, "We have a wide-open field for comic book characters on the big screen and we've yet to have a major black comic book hero on the screen. Especially the Black Panther, which is such a rich, interesting life. It's a dream come true to originate something that nobody's ever seen before."

In January 1994, Snipes entered talks with Columbia Pictures to portray the Black Panther in the film adaptation of the comic book superhero. The following March, Stan Lee joined the development process for a film about the Black Panther. By May, the film was in early development with Columbia Pictures. In January 1996, Stan Lee said that he had not been pleased with the scripts he had encountered for the Black Panther. In July 1997, the Black Panther was listed as part of Marvel Comics' film slate. In March 1998, Marvel hired Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti to work on the Black Panther film adaptation. In August, corporate problems at Marvel had put the Black Panther project on hold. In August 1999, Snipes was set to produce, and possibly star, in the film featuring the Black Panther.

In Marvel's June 2000 deal with Artisan Entertainment to develop big and small screen products, the Black Panther was one of the four names (among Captain America, Thor, and Deadpool) that surfaced. In March 2002, Snipes told Cinescape magazine that he planned to do Blade 3 or Black Panther in 2003. In August 2002, Snipes said he hoped to begin production on Black Panther by 2003. In July 2004, Blade 3 director David S. Goyer said that Wesley Snipes would not likely be Black Panther, stating that "He's already so entrenched as Blade that another Marvel hero might be overkill."

In September 2005, Marvel chairman and CEO Avi Arad announced Black Panther as one of the ten Marvel films that would be developed by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. In June 2006, Snipes told Men's Fitness magazine that much work had been done toward a film adaptation of the Black Panther and that he hoped to have a director soon. In February 2007, Kevin Feige, president of production for Marvel Studios, stated that Black Panther was on Marvel's development slate. In July 2007, director John Singleton said that he was approached to do Black Panther.