Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, 2018’s Black Panther tells the story of T’Challa, a warrior prince who ascends the throne of the fictional African ethnostate of Wakanda, an isolationist nation with futuristic technology based on the rare resource Vibranium, after the death of his father. After this, he faces a challenge to his rule and the nation’s isolationist ethos in the form of Killmonger, the son of a dogmatic Wakandan revolutionary and the brother of T’Challa’s father. The film received widespread acclaim and elevated the talented Boseman to the level of a cultural icon before his unfortunate passing in 2020 at the age of 43.
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In an interview with Empire, the Marvel Studios president, who has had the next decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe mapped out for some time, revealed that the decision not to recast Boseman’s iconic role in the upcoming sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was not just the right choice for those who worked with him, but also the move that best embodied what Marvel was about. “It just felt like it was much too soon to recast. Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window," Feige said. “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.”
While discussing the upcoming sequel to Black Panther, which began filming in July, Feige commented, “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.” He also assured fans that Ryan Coogler poured the feeling of loss into the new movie. Coogler, who wrote and directed the original and returned in that capacity for the sequel, has been very vocal about how Boseman’s passing has affected the creation of a sequel, speaking about how hard it was for him to write Black Panther 2 without Boseman.
While the sequel has been highly anticipated, some don’t believe any film can live up to the quality and cultural impact of the first. This skepticism might be shared by the minds behind the project, with the film undergoing writing changes after shooting started and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reshoots close to the movie’s release. Whether or not this fine tuning will be enough to do justice to Boseman’s legacy and the first film’s success will be revealed soon enough.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set for theatrical release on the 11th of November 2022.
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Source: Empire
