Marvel producer says T’Challa will never be recast in the MCU

The tragic death of Chadwick Boseman last year was a huge blow, but the franchise he helped to build will continue with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Although Marvel has said that T’Challa wouldn’t be recast in the film, nor would they try to bring Boseman back digitally, it’s easy to imagine the studio bringing the character back years down the road.

While speaking on the Ringer-Verse podcast, Marvel VP of Development Nate Moore squashed any thoughts that T’Challa would be brought back without Chadwick Boseman.

I’m not hedging my bets, I’m being quite honest: You will not see T’Challa in the MCU 616 Universe.

Nate Moore continued, “We couldn’t do it. I will say when Chad passed, it was a real conversation we had with Coogler about what do we do. And it was a fast conversation; it wasn’t weeks. It was minutes of we have to figure out how to move this franchise on without that character. Because I think we all feel so much of T’Challa in the MCU on the screen, not in comics, is tied to Chadwick’s performance, is what he brought to that role, both on and off-screen I would argue.” You could also argue that Moore’s mention of the 616 Universe means that a future appearance of a variant version of T’Challa is a possibility. Moore admitted what while it was very challenging for them to tell the story of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever without T’Challa, “at no point did we consider recasting.“

When Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is released, Nate Moore believes that audiences will experience a level of catharsis, because Chadwick Boseman’s performance and the world of Wakanda really are one and the same.

It was recently announced that production on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had been put on pause. Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri, had been hospitalized after a stunt rig incident this summer that wound up being more serious than first reported. Director Ryan Coogler has shot everything he can without her, but it’s expected that Wright will have recovered in time to resume shooting early next year. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to hit theaters on November 11, 2022.