*During the Marvel Studios’ presentation at Disney Investor Day on Thursday, Marvel president Kevin Feige confirmed that Chadwick Boseman’s character of T’Challa will not be recast in “Black Panther II.”
“I wanted to acknowledge the devastating loss of a dear friend and member of the Marvel Studios family,” Feige said, Deadline reports. “Chadwick Boseman was an immensely talented actor and an inspirational individual who affected all of our lives professionally and personally. His portrayal of T’Challa the Black Panther is iconic and transcends iteration of the character in any other medium from Marvel’s past.”
Feige continued, “To honor the legacy that Chad helped us build through his portrayal of the king of Wakanda, we want to continue to explore the world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.”
READ MORE: George C. Wolfe on Directing Chadwick Boseman in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’
You will always be our King. pic.twitter.com/6yfKb913rI
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) August 31, 2020
Boseman died in August at age 43 after a private battle with colon cancer. The news of not recasting his character comes after executive producer Victoria Alonso slammed rumors of using a digital double for the actor.
“No. There’s only one Chadwick, and he’s no longer with us. Sadly, our king has died in real life, not only in fiction, and we’re taking a little time to see how we continue the story and how to honor this chapter of what has unexpectedly happened to us, so painful and terrible to be honest,” Alonso said in an interview with Argentine newspaper Clarín. “Chadwick wasn’t only a wonderful human being, every day of the 5 years we spent together, but also, I believe, that what he did as a character elevated us as a company, and has left his moment on history.”
She also confirmed that Marvel hopes to pay tribute to Boseman’s legacy in the sequel.
“Because Chadwick was not only a wonder of a human being every day for the five years that we spent together, but it also seems to me that as a character what he did elevated us as a company and has left his moment in history. I know that sometimes two months go by or three months go by in production and you say, ‘Well, it was a long time.’ But it is not a long time. We have to think carefully about what we are going to do and how and think about how we are going to honor the franchise.”
The “Black Panther” sequel is being written and directed by Ryan Coogler and is slated for release on July 8, 2022.
