Black Panther 2: Marvel producer addresses the controversy surrounding the recasting of T’Challa

Marvel Studios' much-anticipated film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is the sequel to Black Panther, is just a couple of weeks away from opening in theatres. The film, which also pays tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman who starred in the MCU as T'Challa for six years, closes out the phase 4 slate for MCU.

Boseman passed away at the age of 43 from colon cancer in 2020. The actor was set to reprise his role as King of Wakanda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, his untimely death changed the fate of the second installment. Ever since his death, there has been a lot of talk about whether Marvel Studios should go ahead with the recasting of T'Challa and the continuation of his story under the umbrella of Marvel Studios.

Ahead of the theatrical release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Nate Moore, the Marvel Studios Vice President of Production and Development said that deciding to recast is not an easy one. “I don’t know if anything about it was an easy decision. But it was a decision that once made, we all believed in, and it led us on a path forward,” he said.

Moore is aware of the #RecastTChalla fan campaign that has been requesting the decision-makers at Marvel Studios to continue production for the character without Boseman. “I could not imagine turning to the best young actor in the world who wasn’t Chadwick, and being like, ‘OK, so you’re T’Challa.’ I could not, and cannot, imagine that. I really couldn’t,” he added.

In December 2020, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige officially announced that there would not be any recasting of Boseman in Black Panther 2. “Obviously it was a shock to all of us, the way it was to the world. We found out when the world found out,” Feige said of Boseman’s private four-year battle with pancreatic cancer. “And for a long time, the focus was just on that — on processing the loss of a colleague, and a friend, and an important creative partner for us.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuts in cinemas on November 11.