Black Panther fans are still calling on Marvel Studios to #RecastTChalla.
Following the San Diego Comic-Con premiere of the first Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer, fans quickly began using the hashtag #RecastTChalla to express their displeasure at Marvel Studios choosing to kill off T'Challa/Black Panther instead of recasting the character with a different Black actor. Chadwick Boseman portrayed T'Challa in four Marvel Cinematic Universe films, beginning with 2016's Captain America: Civil War. He also appeared in Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) and voiced variants of the character in multiple episodes of the Disney+ animated series What If...? in 2021. The actor passed away in 2020 after a lengthy battle with colon cancer. Although Marvel Studios didn't reveal their immediate plans for T'Challa following Boseman's death, the company confirmed in Nov. 2021 that T'Challa would not be recast in the MCU.
Martin Freeman, who plays CIA agent Everett Ross in the MCU, has previously talked about what it felt like to shoot the sequel without Boseman. "It was strange, that side of it," Freeman said in May 2022. "On the one hand, you're making the film that you're there to make, and there are scores and scores of people on set, joined in this endeavor to make the film. But there's also no question that, at the heart of it, there's quite a gap now, and you felt it." Lupita Nyong'o, who returns as War Dog Nakia in the upcoming MCU sequel, has also discussed the film's production, describing the process as "very therapeutic."
A New Black Panther Will Appear in Wakanda Forever
The Wakanda Forever SDCC trailer ends with a shot of an unknown character extending the claws of the Black Panther suit. When Nyong'o was asked about who would be stepping into the mantle following T'Challa's sudden passing, the actor coyly responded, "Don’t you just love a good secret?" Similarly, Letitia Wright, who reprises her role as T'Challa's sister Shuri in Wakanda Forever, faced the same question and chose to remain tight-lipped. "I don't know what you're talking about," said Wright. "But November 11, you get your ticket." Several fans have theorized that Shuri will become the MCU's next Black Panther by the end of Wakanda Forever.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever focuses on the leaders of Wakanda as they fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman, Tenoch Huerta, Michaela Coel, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in theaters on Nov. 11.
Source: Twitter