Following the actor and character’s passing, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever did its best to honor the late Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa. Still, one star is sure that the MCU’s original Black Panther will return.
After Boseman tragically passed suddenly, Marvel Studios made the painful choice not to remake T’Challa, with Black Panther 2 essentially acting as a monument to his legacy from beginning to end. After noteworthy roles in four Marvel Studios productions between 2016 and 2019, this was a welcome development, however, not everyone was happy with Marvel’s decision to cast T’Challa exclusively.
Although Nakia revealed that she and T’Challa had a son, also named T’Challa, at the film’s conclusion, many people didn’t think this was sufficient to keep the character alive. As a result, social media users vigorously promoted the “Recast T’Challa” movement, venting their frustration and indignation that another actor didn’t step in to play adult T’Challa instead of the character dying in-universe. But following the film’s successful theatrical release, one of Boseman’s co-stars revealed his belief that T’Challa’s Black Panther would return, even if it wasn’t portrayed by Boseman.
Black Panther 2 Star: “T’Challa Will Live On”
In an interview with Esquire, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actor Winston Duke expressed his opinion that T’Challa will eventually be played by a different actor in upcoming Black Panther films.
There is “no way they’ll never remake Black Panther,” according to Duke, who also predicted that the “saga” of T’Challa will continue with a different actor:
“There’s no way they’ll never remake Black Panther in the future. There’s no way that the saga and interpretation of T’Challa, King of Wakanda, will end. He is canon. So trust that it’ll come. But allow [Black Panther: Wakanda Forever] to be a human experience.”
The M’Baku star did, however, leave the possibility of T’Challa’s reappearance in the MCU using “many realms” and “potential reimaginations” open. Additionally, he mentioned the “degree of faith that (fans) should have for a comic book universe,” which might result in a different perspective on T’Challa in upcoming tales:
“So, I feel, as-is, 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 you also have to… there’s a level of trust that I think we should all have for a comic book world. (laughs) For a comic book world that has multiple dimensions and parallel dimensions and multiple stories and possible futures and possible reimaginations in the past. 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.”
When Will the Black Panther of T’Challa Return?
Although Chadwick Boseman’s legacy was honored as the Wakandan warrior was laid to rest in Black Panther 2, the MCU still needs to keep up with a new version of T’Challa as the young prince matures and assumes his role as a leader and hero.
Winston Duke, though, feels confident that the Black Panther will be brought back for a new interpretation that lives on for a new audience when looking ahead to the future of Marvel movies, possibly long after the MCU is completed. There’s no reason to think that this hero won’t get another set of adventures with a whole different cast later in the twenty-first century since heroes are frequently rebooted, as evidenced in recent years by many iterations of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four.
Although it might not make its debut until later in the Multiverse Saga or after it is finished in 2026, Marvel Studios already has ideas for a Black Panther 3 in development.