Marvel Studios has officially announced that Chadwick Boseman will not be recast as T’Challa for future MCU projects.
The death of the beloved actor at just 43 earlier this year came as a devastating shock to his many colleagues and co-stars and his countless fans across the world at large. For one, it threw the future of the Black Panther franchise into doubt, with Black Panther 2 quietly being paused so the filmmakers could rethink their plans for the sequel.
Many had wondered whether Marvel would go ahead and replace Boseman with someone else in the role of King T’Challa, or even recreate his likeness using CGI, such as was done with Leia in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker after Carrie Fisher’s death. It doesn’t seem like either of those options will be pursued, though, according to a statement made this Thursday, which you can see below.
Black Panther 2, opening July 8, 2022, is being written & directed by Ryan Coogler. Honoring Chadwick Boseman’s legacy & portrayal of T’Challa, @MarvelStudios will not recast the character, but will explore the world of Wakanda & the rich characters introduced in the first film.
— Disney (@Disney) December 11, 2020
I think most fans would agree that this is the best course of action open to Marvel. As terrific as Boseman was, 2018’s Black Panther boasted arguably the best supporting cast in any MCU movie to date, with the likes of Letitia Wright’s Shuri, Danai Gurira’s Okoye, Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia and Winston Duke’s M’Baku all being standouts, alongside many others. These characters combined should be strong enough to carry the follow-up, then. No doubt the presence of Boseman’s Wakandan king will still be keenly felt as well, though.
The actor’s final performance as T’Challa will come in an episode of Marvel’s What If…? animated series, as revealed in the first trailer for the show that was also released today. But as for Black Panther 2, it’ll certainly be interesting to see how Marvel shapes the sequel without the leading man.