Marvel boss Kevin Feige has said it was “much too soon” to recast Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The film producer reflected on the forthcoming sequel in an interview with Empire, explaining where the franchise will go in light of the death of Boseman who played T’Challa in the first film.
“It just felt like it was much too soon to recast,” Feige said, before referring to the ethos of the Marvel comics.
“Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window,” he continued.
“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 [Coogler, director] poured that into the story.”
Feige added: “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.”
Boseman passed away in 2020 after being diagnosed with colon cancer four years prior. In 2021, the actor’s brother said he believes Chadwick would want his role to be recast for the character for T’Challa to live on in the MCU.
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Derrick Boseman reportedly said that T’Challa “was bigger than one guy” and that Chadwick “knew the power of the character”.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be released in UK cinemas on November 11.