Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa Will Not Be Recast In ‘Black Panther’ Films, As Confirmed By The Marvel Studios VP

Following the death of Chadwick Boseman, Marvel and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler has been steadfast in their decision not to recast the role of T’Challa. While that choice was undoubtedly an obstacle for the sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Studios and Coogler have committed themselves to the task. However, they might not have the full support of Black Panther fans who have been making waves on social media in favor of recasting T’Challa. It’s to the point where Marvel Vice President of Development Nate Moore has issued a response.

While calls to recast T’Challa have popped up before following Boseman’s death, they resurfaced last week after a report that Black Panther actress Letitia Wright’s unvaccinated status could cause a significant delay to the sequel if the production doesn’t find a way around recent travel restrictions. The situation prompted speculation for recasting Wright’s character; after all, Shuri, who as T’Challa’s sister, could become the next Black Panther. But fans didn’t stop there. Some began calling for a recast of both T’Challa and Shuri, so the films could restore the two main characters to their glory and do right by the Black Panther legacy.

While talking to The Ringer-verse podcast over the weekend, Moore shot down any talk of recasting T’Challa and reiterated Coogler’s stance on honoring Boseman:

Via Newsweek:

Speaking on the Ringer-Verse Podcast on November 13, Moore explained: “We couldn’t do it. I will say, when Chadwick 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 the franchise on without that character.'”

While Marvel is in a tough situation in moving forward with the Black Panther franchise, unfortunately, some fans didn’t agree with Moore’s latest remark. On Monday morning, T’Challa started trending on Twitter as Black Panther fans respectively argued that the character is larger than Boseman, and that future fans shouldn’t be denied a chance to see T’Challa in action as the Black Panther.

https://twitter.com/PerryComedy/status/1460121980217217024

https://twitter.com/WeaponXKP21/status/1460113078088081409

While fans voiced their disapproval of T’Challa not coming back, others latched onto Moore’s interesting choice of words, which seemed to open the door to a Multiverse solution to the Black Panther conundrum:

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11, 2022.

(Via Van Lathan Jr. on Twitter)