Kevin Feige Reveals Why Marvel Did Not Recast Black Panther

With the Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever on its way, fans have begun to speculate what will become of T’Challa. The character was played by Chadwick Boseman in the first film, but Boseman tragically passed away since the film’s release. Rumors began to float around about a potential recast since he’s a pretty important player in the Black Panther story, being the main character and all.

At the end of the first film, T’Challa founds an outreach center in America. He also appears in front of the United Nations to explain what exactly is really going on in Wakanda. Despite his central role in the first film, he’s not going to be recast. It’s interesting to speculate what would have become of the series if he was still around, but Marvel isn’t going to find a stand-in anytime soon.

Kevin Feige recently spoke with Empire to discuss T’Challa, Chadwick Boseman, and the future of the series. He said:

It just felt like it was much too soon to recast, 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.

 

Ryan Coogler will return to direct Wakanda Forever, based on an entirely new script. Coogler had been working on an initial script for Black Panther 2 that heavily featured T’Challa before Boseman’s passing. After Boseman’s death, Feige said “the conversations were entirely about, yes, ‘What do we do next? 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?’” The new film will feature Tenoch Huerta as Namor and Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is due to hit theaters on November 11.