A petition to recast T'Challa in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has nearly reached 50,000 signatures as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's release draws nearer.

In April, movie reviewer Emmanuel Noisette created a Change.org petition asking Marvel Studios to recast T'Challa, previously portrayed by the late Chadwick Boseman. "This petition is merely asking to continue the portrayal of T'Challa in the MCU. #RecastTChalla is a call to fulfill the role that Chadwick Boseman worked so hard for the world to see," the petition explained. At the time of this writing, just shy of 49,000 fans have signed.

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Boseman died in August 2020 from stage 4 colon cancer. He starred in five MCU projects as T'Challa, with his debut coming in 2016's Captain America: Civil War. While he featured as the lead in Black Panther, he also had a significant role in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Boseman's final project was the Disney+ series What If...?, which featured lines recorded shortly before his death.

Many Marvel fans have expressed their opinion on recasting T'Challa, with the petition adding that it would be a great way to honor the character. There have been a number of rumors surrounding whether an already established character could take up the mantle of Black Panther, such as Okoye or Shuri, but these reports are unconfirmed.

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Despite the pleas, Marvel Studios Vice President of Production and Development Nate Moore recently explained that fans should not expect to see a recasting of T'Challa in any future MCU films. "You will not see T'Challa in the MCU 616 universe," he said. "We couldn't do it. I will say when Chad passed, it was a real conversation we had with [Black Panther director Ryan] Coogler about 'What do we do?' And it was a fast conversation."

While plot details about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever are currently unknown, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett are all reprising their roles from Black Panther. However, the sequel has faced a number of controversies surrounding Wright, with production halting due to injuries she sustained on set. This was then followed by rumors about her supposed anti-vaccine stance causing tension, to which Wright said, "The report spoke about my conduct on the set of Black Panther 2. I honestly assert that this was completely untrue."

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to hit theaters on Nov 11, 2022.

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Source: Change.org