On Dec. 10, Disney’s official Twitter account released an abundance of tweets, providing details about their upcoming projects. Among them was information for the sequel to their high profile film, “Black Panther.”
“Honoring Chadwick Boseman’s legacy & portrayal of T’Challa, @MarvelStudios will not recast the character.” Disney wrote, “but [we] will explore the world of Wakanda & the rich characters introduced in the first film.”
Chadwick Boseman, who played the titular hero – the Black Panther – is one of many celebrities who died in 2020 on Aug. 28. His cause of death was colon cancer, which he had not disclosed to the public.
The news of his passing provided a wave of emotional responses throughout the internet. Marvel Studio’s Twitter account honored him by keeping a pinned tweet stating Boseman will, “always be our King” while fans of varying ages made a variety of tributes, some of them just by vowing Wakanda Forever.
Soon after, fans of Boseman began wondering what exactly would become of the character T’Challa. Many, myself included, felt it would be jarring to see a new actor take Boseman’s place so abruptly; therefore, it was a relief to see it stated that Boseman’s role would not be given to another.
However, neither Disney nor the team behind “Black Panther” did not announce that T’Challa was deceased and this was interesting to think about in regards to the future.
Although I believe T’Challa should not yet be recast, I do believe it would be distasteful to remove him from this movie franchise entirely.
Needless to say, T’Challa has to be back on the big screen. Not right now, but eventually he must return.
T’Challa is the first black superhero within American mainstream comic books, debuting in July 1966. In Stan Lee’s own words, his creation was not a result of civil rights, but due to the fact he had acknowledged there were no black superheroes.
T’Challa was first seen in “The Fantastic Four” #52-53. Later, he would appear alongside heroes such as Captain America and he even joined The Avengers by 1966.
The series that would flesh him out as a character would be in “Jungle Action” which lasted from 1973 to 1976. “Jungle Action” would also lead to the creation of his foe, Erik Killmonger, which in turn meant the world of Wakanda was now beginning to form.
By Jan. 1977, Marvel would relaunch the T’Challa’s series, titling the comic books to what we presently know as being, “Black Panther.”
As the years progressed, T’Challa would appear on television as early as 1994 on the Fantastic Four’s animated series, voiced by the renowned African American actor Keith David (“Greenleaf,” “The Princess And The Frog”)
In 2010, “Black Panther” would have an animated series on BET where T’Challa was voiced by Djimon Hounsou (“Amistad”, “Guardians of The Galaxy”) yet, it only ran for one season with a total of six episodes.
Among various other appearances in Marvel cartoons, T’Challa would make a prominent appearance in, “Avengers Assemble.” He even became the focus of its final season which was aptly titled, “Avengers: Black Panther’s Quest.” In this series, he was voiced by James C. Mathias III who still voices him on a recurring basis within video game depictions.
Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) , especially fans of African American descent, had been eagerly awaiting for years for T’Challa to appear in the live-action films. With Boseman’s portrayal, fans got everything they wanted and more out of this character.
However, although Boseman did a phenomenal job making this ink-drawn character into a living, breathing man – are we not dismissing T’Challa’s historical and iconic impact by removing him from the franchise?
Having appeared only in three films thus far, T’Challa’s story, as well as his character arc, will be cut short in contrast to his counterparts such as Tony Stark or Thor if he is not recast. It is also particularly a troublesome act to kill off T’Challa when the MCU has already depicted him vanishing due to Thanos’ snap and being in countless, near-death experiences in the titular film.
But of course, T’Challa’s recasting must be done with respect as time should pass in order for fans to heal from Boseman’s death.
After all, another prominent black superhero – Blade, originally debuted as a movie from 1998 to 2004 starring Wesley Snipes in the lead role, and now, it is being given a new television adaptation starring Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight,” “Luke Cage”) as the main character.
Boseman’s portrayal of T’Challa will be something fans of Marvel will never forget. But, if we solely define Boseman with T’Challa, we risk losing yet another black superhero among our limited few.
Ayzha Middlebrooks
Executive Editor