Chadwick Boseman left an inescapable impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At the time of its release, Black Panther was the highest-grossing film in the MCU outside of the Avengers series and has only been surpassed in that regard by No Way Home. It only made sense that Marvel would greenlight a sequel, but Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was thrown into disarray by Boseman's tragic passing. Marvel could have recast the role of T'Challa but elected not to, citing how deeply tied the character was to "Chadwick's performance [and] what he brought to that role both on and off-screen."

This decision was a respectful way to honor the late actor's contribution to the MCU but left the status of T'Challa as a character unclear, at least until Wakanda Forever's first trailer at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. The King of Wakanda is absent from the trailer, but a somber mural and funeral procession confirm his death. The Black Panther mantle gets taken up by a currently-unknown character, but one still has to wonder if Marvel will ever bring T'Challa back.

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T'Challa as Black Panther, Black Panther

The easy answer is no. Marvel Studios stated it doesn't think there's a fruitful way to recast the role without Boseman's contribution, which makes sense given how strong his original performance was. But What If...? provides the perfect way for them to thread the needle in this instance. Episode 2 of the series, What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord, showed off an alternate version of T'Challa who'd been kidnaped by Yondu as a child and gone on to become the leader of the Ravagers. While still voiced by Boseman and sharing plenty of personality with his live-action counterpart, this T'Challa was lighter and more playful, unburdened by the mantle of king and the sins of his forefathers.

In the MCU's prime timeline, Gamora met her seemingly-final fate at the hands of Thanos when he sacrificed her to obtain the Soul Stone. But a year later, Avengers: Endgame undid her death by means of time-traveling shenanigans, bringing a version of her from 2014 to the future. The Loki television series works on the same premise, following the adventures of an earlier version of the Asgardian God of Mischief. In that sense, the MCU has already shown its willingness to undo death by giving fans different versions of characters.

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T'Challa as Star-Lord in Marvel's What If...?

The key, in this case, is to bring over a version of T'Challa that's different enough to make recasting not only necessary. The pioneer for this in the live-action section of the MCU is No Way Home, which introduced two different variants of Peter Parker to help out their newer incarnation, each played by an actor who'd taken up the role in the past. The film showed how each Peter was different, with separate mannerisms, histories and powers.

The same approach towards T'Challa could let Marvel use the character in the future while leaving Boseman's legacy and performance untarnished. It's also an idea deeply rooted in the comics the franchise takes inspiration from. Characters in comics never seem to truly die, with constant resurrections of one kind or another as different writers and artists show off their own interpretation of classic heroes and villains. There's no reason T'Challa needs to be any different, as the character can get reimagined and recast for years and years of new stories.

To see how the MCU honors T'Challa's legacy, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters Nov. 11.