Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has explained why they did not recast T'Challa in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever following the passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020.

"It just felt like it was much too soon to recast," he said in an interview with Empire. "Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there’s a relatable and human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And [director and co-writer] Ryan [Coogler] poured that into the story."

RELATED: How Black Panther's M'Baku Was Changed by Thanos' Snap

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, winning a posthumous Emmy Award for his performance in the latter. 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. The decision to not recast the titular character has not been welcomed by some Marvel fans, who have openly campaigned for Marvel Studios to reverse the decision and introduce a new actor in the role.

Filming Wakanda Forever Was Hard on Its Stars

The upcoming MCU sequel will find the leaders of Wakanda fighting to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. Letitia Wright, who portrays T'Challa's younger sister Shuri in the MCU, has discussed how hard it was to film Wakanda Forever without Boseman. "It was hard for me to imagine being on set without my brother," the actor said. "It was something I was battling for months. The confidence that [Ryan Coogler] felt that he heard Chadwick just give him that gentle push forward, to continue. And the way that Ryan would express that it was bigger than all of us, and Chad would have wanted us to continue. That really encouraged me." Wakanda Forever star Lupita Nyong'o has also revealed that she was brought to tears after hearing how Coogler was going to pay tribute to her late co-star in the upcoming film, describing it as "so utterly truthful and beautiful."

RELATED: Skydance's Marvel Game Will Introduce the Deadliest Black Panther Ever

Although Marvel Studios has written T'Challa out of Wakanda Forever, the film is still expected to feature the titular superhero, with an undisclosed character taking on the mantle. While it is currently unknown who that character will be, multiple reports, as well as a LEGO set, have suggested that Wright's Shuri will become the next Black Panther in the film and moving forward in the MCU.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens in theaters on November 11.

Source: Empire