As we are a year away from the sequel to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's 2018 blockbuster hit Black Panther, Marvel feels the need to respect the late Chadwick Boseman's life work. The film will not include his beloved T'Challa character, and they will never recast his role.
In Friday's (Nov. 12) episode of "The Ringer-Verse" podcast, Marvel’s VP of Development Nate Moore explained that they have no plans of replacing Boseman with any other actor for the role of T'Challa in live portrayals of Black Panther: "You will not see T’Challa in the MCU 616 universe. We couldn’t do it. I will say, when Chad passed, it was a real conversation we had with Coogler about ‘what do we do?’ And it was a fast conversation. It wasn’t weeks, it was minutes of, ‘We have to figure out how to move this franchise on without that character.’"
More referenced Ryan Coogler in this decision, who directed the first Black Panther movie. In April this year, Coogler explained Marvel's decision to come out with a second Black Panther movie, saying Boseman would have wanted it that way: "It’s difficult. You’ve got to keep going when you lose loved ones. I know Chad wouldn’t have wanted us to stop. So it would be harder for me to stop. Truthfully. I’d feel him yelling at me, like, 'What are you doing?' So you keep going."
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Boseman last portrayed T'Challa posthumously in August this year, a year after his tragic death to cancer at the age of 43, when he voiced the character for Marvel's new Disney+ animated show What If...? Fans were thrilled to hear Chadwick's voice again, but it was a tough pill to swallow that it would be the last time.
While Head of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige had already confirmed they would not get a new T'Challa for the sequel, More's confirmation means they will never use T'Challa's character again in any MCU movie.
The sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is set to release on Nov. 11, 2022.
Check out what Nate More had to say below.
[Via]