Marvel Explains Why They Didn't Recast Chadwick Boseman's King T'Challa in 'Black Panther 2'

Marvel CEO Kevin Feige is speaking out about the decision to not recast the role of King T’Challa in the upcoming sequel to 2018′s Black Panther.

Chadwick tragically passed away in August 2020 after battling cancer. He was only 43 years old. At the time of his death, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, had not yet started production.

Click inside to read what Kevin Feige had to say…

In a new interview, Kevin spoke out about why he did not recast the role for the second film.

If you don’t know, after Chadwick‘s tragic death, a petition was released asking Marvel to consider recasting the role.

The Change.org petition read, “If Marvel Studios removes T’Challa, it would be at the expense of the audiences (especially Black boys and men) who saw themselves in him,” adding that the goal of the petition was not to have Marvel immediately recast the character or use Chadwick‘s death as a plot device, but rather, to allow the portrayal of the character to continue.

“It just felt like it was much too soon to recast,” Kevin told Empire. “Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. 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. And [director] Ryan [Coogler] poured that into the story.”

Kevin continued, “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.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premieres in theaters on November 11. One other star from the original Black Panther film will not be returning for the second film.