It’s claimed that Marvel is finally going to recast Black Panther for Avengers: Doomsday, Avengers: Secret Wars, and Black Panther 3, which is confirmed in development.
What does the rumor say?
The rumor comes via Jeff Sneider who says:
“Marvel is looking to recast its Black Panther hero T’Challa ahead of the two ‘Avengers’ movies and Ryan Coogler’s ‘Black Panther’ 3.”
What happened with Black Panther?
Chadwick Boseman debuted as Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War in 2016 and then would go on to star in the Black Panther movie in 2018. Both movies made over a billion dollars. Boseman would next star in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, both of which also made well over a billion dollars. Boseman’s last time playing T-Challa would be in the What If…? animated series for Disney+.
Marvel went ahead with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with Letitia Wright as Shuri as the new Black Panther. The film failed to impress and made well under a billion dollars. Fans have petitioned Marvel to recast (more on that below).
What happened with Chadwick Boseman?
Back in August of 2020, Chadwick Boseman died at the age of 43 due to cancer. Chadwick Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer back in 2016 and had been battling the disease ever since; he never let the disease be made public.
What about recasting?
Feige says not recasting
Following the death of Boseman, Kevin Feige said they will not be recasting when he announced Black Panther 2 back in December of 2020:
“I wanted to acknowledge the devastating loss of a dear friend and member of the Marvel Studios family. Chadwick Boseman was an immensely talented actor and an inspirational individual who affected all of our lives professionally and personally. His portrayal of T’Challa the Black Panther is iconic and transcends iteration of the character in any other medium from Marvel’s past.”
“It’s for that reason that we will not recast the character. However, to honor the legacy that Chad helped us build through his portrayal of the king of Wakanda, we want to continue to explore the world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film. Writer/director Ryan Coogler is hard at work on the sequel now, and we’ll bring the film to you in theaters July 8, 2022.”
Feige says too soon to recast
With Black Panther 2 greenlit, fans were wondering if Marvel would ever recast; however, back in September of 2022, Kevin Feige reiterated it was too soon, as he told Empire magazine at the time:
“It just felt like it was much too soon to recast. Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there’s a relatable and 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 entirely about, yes, ‘What do we do next?’ And how could the legacy of Chadwick – and what he had done to help Wakanda and the Black Panther become these incredible, aspirational, iconic ideas – continue? That’s what it was all about.”
Marvel producer says they will never recast
Marvel producer Nate Moore, who recently was announced to be exiting Marvel, actually said fans wouldn’t see T’Challa in the MCU ever again following the death of Boseman. Moore said back in 2021:
“I will say the chances that you see T’Challa in our…I’m not hedging my bets. I’m being quite honest. You will not see T’Challa in the MCU 616 Universe. We couldn’t do it. When Chad passed, it was a real conversation we had with [Ryan] Coogler about, ‘What do we do?’ It was a fast conversation. It wasn’t weeks. It was minutes of we have to figure out how to move that franchise on without that character. At no point did we consider recasting. The challenge of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is telling a story without T’Challa.”
Chadwick Boseman’s family supports recasting of Black Panther
However, back in December of 2021, responding to a petition from fans to recast, Boseman’s brother did support the recasting of Black Panther. Derrick Boseman told TMZ at the time that Chadwick would want the role recast:
CB’s bro, Derrick Boseman, tells TMZ … yes, he does think T’Challa needs to live on in the ‘Black Panther’ franchise, and if that means tapping another actor to portray the king of Wakanda — the role Chadwick made famous and legendary, then so be it.
Here’s the thing … Derrick tells us he believes his sibling would’ve wanted with this too — explaining Chadwick thought T’Challa was bigger than just himself as one guy. Frankly, Derrick says Chadwick knew the power of the character, and the positive influence it carries.
Derrick says there’s so much power in seeing a Black king — especially in a superhero capacity, like in the Marvel flick — which has a HUGE impact on African-American youth. DB tells us with Marvel killing off that character so quickly in the wake of Chadwick’s death, they’re kinda depriving black kids of a role model.
Derrick says there aren’t a whole lot of positive influences for young black children these days — he thinks hip-hop glorifies certain social ills, and Marvel has a chance to counteract that by bringing back T’Challa — who he sees as a symbol of Black people’s potential.
Black Panther 3 details
Regarding Black Panther 3, there is no release date. No plot details are known. It is known Ryan Coogler is returning to direct and is currently writing the script.
Denzel Washington let it slip that Coogler is writing a part for him in Black Panther 3.
With the news of Nate Moore exiting Marvel, Marvel Studios officially announced Black Panther 3 is in development.
