Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Many people loved the movie Black Panther in no small part due to the performance of Chadwick Boseman. From his first appearance in Captain America: Civil War, through his own film, the Avengers films, and the upcoming What If? Series on Disney +, Boseman owned the role. Not only was he an excellent actor, he also had the look and the presence to carry the role as the King of Wakanda and superhero Avenger.

Sadly, we lost him to cancer far, far too young at the age of 43. His fans were robbed of the many great roles he would have surely played in the future, and fans of superheroes and Marvel comics mourned his death.

Questions invariably turned to which actor might replace him, with a number of fans arguing that no one could. Better to let the character die than replace him, they argued. Marvel was silent for a time, presumably weighing their options. After all, he had only completed the first Black Panther film in what would presumably be a trilogy. What could they do? T’Challa was likely to be a major player in the next phase of the MCU.

Ultimately, Kevin Feige announced that Boseman would not be recast and the next film would focus on “the world of Wakanda and the rich characters introduced in the first film.”

Many fans breathed a sigh of relief and speculation began that T’Challa’s sister Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, would assume the mantle of Black Panther. There is precedent for this in the comics, they pointed out. Making Shuri the next Black Panther would give a hero to young girls, they added.

I, for one, love Shuri. I thought she already was a hero to young girls. Marvel has also introduced other female heroes like Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Captain Marvel. Coming soon, we will have She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau (fresh from WandaVision) will likely adopt her superhero identity, Spectrum.

Additionally, fans (male and female) are loving the Dora Milaje, who appeared in Black Panther, Avengers: Endgame, and recently, Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Future films will likely include the long-awaited X-Men, which also features fan-favourite female characters.

Do we really need to abandon T’Challa, especially when there are still so many stories left to tell with him? We had barely scratched the surface of what he has to offer.

They say it’s a matter of respect; recasting Boseman would be disrespectful. I have to strongly disagree.

Ryan Coogler, director and co-writer of Black Panther and the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has stated on numerous occasions that Chadwick Boseman would have wanted them to continue. Obviously, this applies to the film in general, but I believe it also applies to the character.

Boseman worked hard to bring T’Challa to life on the big screen. He was fighting cancer during his appearances in that character’s debut film and subsequent appearances in the Avengers movies. He knew that the character was important to young boys of colour who needed to see a hero that represented themselves. (I must add that there are boys, girls, men, and women of all colours also loved the character and waited years to see him in live-action)

Despite his illness, he was looking forward to working on Black Panther 2 and was reportedly about to begin his training for the role when he passed away.

This man worked through his illness to bring us this character. He was looking forward to seeing where the next adventure took him. Do you really believe that cutting that character’s journey short is honouring him?

Is it honouring him to take away one of the few black heroes that children have on screen?

Is it honouring him to deny another young actor the opportunity to step into the role of a lifetime?

Knowing the man’s real-life character, do you truly believe this is what he would choose?

Killing T’Challa isn’t honouring Chadwick Boseman. It’s placating fans who are sad he’s gone.

If you truly want to honour Chadwick Boseman, recast T’Challa and let the King live on.