Marvel Studios VP of Production and Development Nate Moore reaffirmed the main Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline won't recast T'Challa after Chadwick Boseman's tragic death from colon cancer in August 2020.

"You will not see T'Challa in the MCU 616 universe. We couldn't do it," said Moore in an interview with The Ringer-Verse podcast. "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. It wasn't weeks, it was minutes of 'We have to figure out how to move this franchise on without that character.' Because I think we all feel so much of T'Challa in the MCU on the screen, not in comics, is tied to Chadwick's performance [and] what he brought to that role both on and off-screen, I would argue. So, as hard it is to narratively to figure out what to do because it's a big hole, at no point did we consider recasting."

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As Moore noted, the challenge facing the sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (which Coogler is also directing) is telling a story without T'Challa. "And I think it's a challenge we're up for and, obviously, we're in the middle of it and we're figuring it out, and so far I think what we're getting is great," said Moore.

"But the challenge of the movie, I think, is to entertain people, but there will be a level of, I think, catharsis in people coming back to this universe without that guy," Moore added. "Because that guy and that universe, to me, are one and the same. So, as filmmakers and storytellers, you have to figure out how people are going to feel going into your movie and what you want that movie to say about that guy who's not going to be in your movie."

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Although specific plot details are under wraps, the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever synopsis confirms the movie will shift its focus away from T'Challa to "explore the incomparable world of Wakanda, and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film." Production on the sequel recently shut down to allow star Letitia Wright time to recover from an injury she sustained while filming a stunt. It aims to restart shooting near the top of 2022, ahead of its scheduled theatrical release that year on Nov. 11.

Source: Twitter