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The sudden death of Chadwick Boseman left his fans shocked and in disbelief. Being that he passed away before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever began filming, many wondered if Marvel would recast the role that helped endear him to millions of fans.
The answer was a solid “no” and Marvel Studios head honcho, Kevin Feige, explained why they decided against replacing Chadwick Boseman in the Black Panther sequel. In an interview with Empire, Feige basically echoed the sentiment that everyone felt at the time of Boseman’s passing, it would’ve just been too soon.
“It just felt like it was much too soon to recast,” he says, likening their approach to Marvel’s long-standing ethos in the comics. Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there’s a relatable and human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And Ryan poured that into the story.”
We’re not mad at that at all. Had Marvel immediately recast the role of T’Challa, many fans would’ve felt the company was in it for the cash and not the legacy that Boseman left behind. Now that we know that Black Panther 2 will acknowledge the passing of T’Challa in the film, it will be interesting to see how the story handles that aspect of the plot while honoring the memory of Chadwick Boseman. A conversation that Feige had with the director, Ryan Coogler.
“The conversations were entirely about, yes, ‘What do we do next?’” Feige explains. “And how could the legacy of Chadwick – and what he had done to help Wakanda and the Black Panther become these incredible, aspirational, iconic ideas – continue? That’s what it was all about.” We’ll find out exactly how Wakanda Forever honours that legacy in just a few weeks’ time.”
We. Can’t Wait.
Though many rumors had everyone from Michael B. Jordan returning as Killmonger to take on the mantle of the Black Panther to Winston Duke’s M’Baku becoming the new protector of Wakanda, it seems like it’ll be Letitia Wright’s Shuri who’ll end up becoming the new Black Panther as she did in the comic books. Whether or not she remains the Black Panther for the foreseeable future is anyone’s guess as fans have been okay with Marvel recasting the role as of late, but we’ll just have to wait and see if Marvel takes heed to fan’s demand and eventually name a new T’Challa.
What do y’all think of Marvel deciding against recasting the role of T’Challa in Black Panther? Should Marvel eventually do so or should they let Shuri rock as the queen of Wakanda? Let us know in the comments section below.
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