If Marvel’s standalone Black Panther film showed us one thing, it was that the eponymous mantle is more than just one person – like Batman, it represents a legend, one capable of striking fear in some and inspiring hope in others.
In the aforementioned movie, it was Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa who followed in the footsteps of his father and went on to become Wakanda’s loyal protector, fending off competition from Erik Killmonger and Winston Duke’s M’Baku as he seized the throne and was crowned the rightful king.
Moving forward, though, it’s entirely possible that Marvel will pave the way for someone to succeed T’Challa as the ruler of Wakanda. In fact, according to producer Nate Moore, the mantle won’t just stick with one individual throughout the course of the MCU, with the filmmaker saying the following last year:
One thing I like to tell Ryan is, the Black Panther is a mantle as much as it is a person, so we’re not restricted by anything, because the truth is, there’s a lot of different ways to go back to Wakanda and have a good time and continue to explore the themes that made the first film so resonant.
Of course, the big question is who will replace T’Challa on the throne when the time comes? Well, there are certainly a few options, but We Got This Covered has heard from our sources that Marvel wants to make Shuri the new Black Panther, and they’ll do so in either Ryan Coogler’s upcoming sequel, or perhaps in Black Panther 3.
Don’t worry, though, as Chadwick Boseman isn’t going anywhere just yet. We’re being told he’ll simply just give the powers over to Shuri so that she can go out and fight and he’ll stay in Wakanda and continue to be king and rule over the land. He’ll still help out from time to time as well, but apparently Marvel wants T’Challa to end up as king and Shuri as the Black Panther when all is said and done.
At least, that’s the plan for now. Of course, things can always change and with so little known about Phase 4 and beyond, it’s hard to say for sure what’ll happen. But between Moore’s comments from last year and what we’re hearing from our sources, it very much sounds like T’Challa won’t be the Black Panther forever.