Marvel VP Restates That the MCU 616 Universe Will Never Recast T'Challa in BLACK PANTHER

Fans were devastated last year when we heard of the passing of the actor Chadwick Boseman, who played King T’Challa aka Black Panther in the MCU. Knowing that there was another Black Panther film in the future, we wondered how the studio would proceed with the story, and if they would try to recast the role. After hearing a lot of chatter that pointed to the studio standing against a new actor taking on the role, we now have further confirmation that the rumors are true.

In a recent interview with Ringer-Verse (via CB), Nate Moore, Marvel's Vice President of development chatted about the future of Black Panther, and he stressed the entire team at Marvel Studios is uninterested in hiring another star to play T'Challa:

"I'll say the chances that you see T'Challa in our - I'm not hedging my bets here, I am being quite honest. You will not see T'Challa in the MCU 616 Universe. We couldn't do it. When [Chadwick] passed, there was a real conversation we had with [director Ryan] Coogler about what do we do, and it was a fast conversation. It wasn't weeks, it was minutes of discussing how we move this franchise forward without this character because I think we all feel so much of T'Challa on the screen is tied to Chadwick Boseman."

Continuing, the executive said Black Panther's sequel has become challenging in new ways without T'Challa, but Moore has faith in the creative team. He continued:

"As hard as it is narratively to figure out what to do next because that's a big hole, at no point did we consider recasting. The challenge for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is how to tell a story without T'Challa, and it's a challenge we are up for."

Boseman certainly made his mark as the character, and it is such a relief to know that his memory will be honored in the coming stories. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently in production, and is set to hit theatres on November 11, 2022.