Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently spoke about the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and why the studio decided against recasting the late Chadwick Boseman’s King T’Challa.
Chadwick Boseman first entered the MCU as T’Challa in 2016 Captain America: Civil Warbefore leading the 2018s Black Panther. Following subsequent appearances in Avengers: Infinity War and End of GameBoseman tragically passed away in 2020 after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which arrives in theaters later this year, continues without T’Challa. The character will be dead off-screen between the movies, and Marvel’s sequel will focus on the other inhabitants of Wakanda.
During an interview with Empire Online, Kevin Feige discussed the decision to continue the Black Panther without T’Challa, rather than recast the role of Chadwick Boseman.
The Marvel Studios president said it was “far too soon” to replace Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa and spoke about Marvel’s mantra of portraying “the world outside your window”. Feige said the events of the film would reflect the real mourning of the loss of Chadwick Boseman.
When asked about the decision not to recast Black Panther, Kevin Feige said:
“I just felt like it was way too early to recast. Stan Lee has always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastic as Whatever our characters and our stories, there’s a relatable, human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And Ryan poured that into the story.
“The conversations were all about, yeah, ‘What do we do next?’ Could he go on? That was what it was all about.
While some fans have expressed their desire to see T’Challa recast for future MCU projects, Kevin Feige’s response to the issue makes sense. T’Challa’s role recast might have felt too soon and forced wakanda forever to ignore the real-world trauma surrounding its creation.
The film will see a new character take up the mantle of Black Panther, a tradition already established as part of Marvel’s lore surrounding Wakanda. It feels like the most reverent approach — it preserves Chadwick Boseman’s place as the one and only T’Challa, while continuing the symbolism of everything the character stood for and meant to fans as Black Panther.
Here is the synopsis of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever:
“In Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from world powers intervening in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and chart a new course for the kingdom of Wakanda.
Directed by Ryan Coogler from a screenplay he co-wrote with Joe Robert Cole, the film stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman and Angela Bassett.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11, 2022. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the future of Marvel’s sequel, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: Empire
