Winston Duke, who plays M'Baku in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, addresses whether the MCU should recast the role of T'Challa following Chadwick Boseman's death. After the success of 2018's Black Panther, director and co-writer Ryan Coogler returns to helm Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The highly-anticipated MCU film is expected to follow the nation of Wakanda as it struggles against other world powers while mourning the loss of their king T'Challa.
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Boseman passed away in 2020 after a battle with cancer, which was a blow to the cast and crew of Black Panther. Coogler recently admitted that he even considered retiring from Hollywood for good following Boseman's passing. Other cast members, including Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Martin Freeman, and Daniel Kaluuya, have also commented on how they were affected by the actor's death. The trailers released for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever have teased that the upcoming MCU movie will be action-packed but also highly emotional. Although T'Challa is confirmed to have died within the MCU, the most recent trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has shown that a new, seemingly female character has taken up the mantle of the Black Panther in his stead.
In a new interview with Jemele Hill, Winston Duke, who returns to play M'Baku in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, comments on whether the MCU should recast T'Challa. Duke explains that, for him, T'Challa is Chadwick Boseman and all the experiences and worldviews that the late actor brought to the role. While separating T'Challa from Boseman is no easy task for Duke, he also hints that the nature of comic book movies and the existence of the multiverse in the MCU means there might be a way to introduce a new T'Challa while still honoring Boseman's legacy. Check out Duke's thoughtful comment below:
“I think for this iteration of Black Panther, it’s very hard for me to comment on something like that because I’m of the mind that this is Chadwick’s role. Chadwick created this and Black Panther wouldn’t be the same without Chadwick Boseman who stood for the things that he stood for. When you cast a person you’re also casting their experiences, you’re casting their politics, you’re casting all these things. Black Panther was heavily defined by the actor that did it, in my opinion. So I feel that, as is, and the decision that’s been made to keep T’Challa Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa is one that has a lot of nobility in it. But there’s a level of trust that we should all have for a comic book world that has multiple dimensions and parallel dimensions and multiple stories and possible futures and possible reimaginations in the past, and just multiple universes that they’re actually experimenting with. So I feel my level of trust is that the medium can support a diversity of interpretations that can actually make us all happy.”
Will T'Challa Eventually Be Recast in the MCU?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is clearly interested in honoring Boseman's version of T'Challa and exploring the implications of the character's death in the MCU. This doesn't mean, however, that audiences won't eventually get a new T'Challa in the future. As Duke suggests, Boseman's T'Challa may remain dead in the MCU, but another version of the character could be introduced down the line. After all, with the MCU now firmly in what has been dubbed the Multiverse Saga, there are likely infinite other versions of T'Challa in different universes, just as there are with other MCU characters.
President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige recently said that it still feels much too soon to discuss recasting the role of T'Challa. As trailers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever show, the characters within the MCU are still processing T'Challa's passing and working through their grief, just as many actors and fans are still doing in real life. With Avengers: Secret Wars set to potentially blast the multiverse wide open in 2025, a new version of T'Challa may be introduced to audiences in the next few years.