When actor Chadwick Boseman passed away in 2020, fans wondered what the future of the Black Panther character he had embodied would be. According to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, however, the choice was always obvious.
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“The conversations were entirely about, yes, ‘What do we do next? And how could the legacy of Chadwick — and what he had done to help Wakanda and the Black Panther become these incredible, aspirational, iconic ideas — continue?’ That’s what it was all about,” Feige said in an interview with Empire.
Feige also went on to say that the team at Marvel Studios knew that recasting the actor wouldn’t be an option due to a multitude of reasons, one of which is the fact that everyone was still processing his loss in real life.
“It just felt like it was much too soon to recast,” Feige said. “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 Ryan poured that into the story.”
Boseman’s legacy will continue on in the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with various scenes seemingly hinting at some sort of memorial scene that will take place in the film.
“In the film, Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye, and the Dora Milaje fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death,” reads the synopsis. “As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.”
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It is once again being directed by Ryan Coogler from a screenplay he is co-writing with Joe Robert Cole. It will see the return of most of its original main cast, including Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Winston Duke as M’Baku, and Florence Kasumba as Ayo.
Joining them are franchise newcomers Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico) as Namor, Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) as Aneka, Mabel Cadena as Namora, and Alex Livinalli as Attuma.
