Marvel president explains why Chadwick Boseman character was not recast in 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'

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'Black Panther' star Chadwick Boseman dies at age 43

Boseman dies after 4-year fight with colon cancer.

Chadwick Boseman portrayed King T'Challa in various Marvel movies including multiple "Avengers" films, "Captain America: Civil War" and his own feature film "Black Panther" which really dove into the origins of the superhero and Wakanda. 

The news of Boseman's tragic death shocked the world in August 2020 when he passed after his battle with colon cancer, a battle that he kept private. Boseman was just 43 years old at the time of his passing.

Many wondered what would happen to Boseman's character in the upcoming sequel to the original movie "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" which was shot after Boseman's death. 

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Chadwick Boseman died at just 43 years old after his ongoing battle with colon cancer. He played King T'Challa in several Marvel movies, including his own feature film before his death.  (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)

The decision was made not to recast the character, not yet at least, although there was a petition that received thousands of signatures asking for his character to be recast in order to honor the late actor. 

Boseman is not in the second movie and his character was not recast, even though the movie does play tribute to him. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige did an interview with Empire where he discussed the decision to not recast T'Challa for the new movie. 

"It just felt like it was much too soon to recast," Feige told the outlet. "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." 

The decision was made not to recast Chadwick Boseman's role in the upcoming "Black Panther" sequel.  ( Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

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"The conversations were entirely about, yes, ‘What do we do next?’ And how could the legacy of Chadwick what he had done to help Wakanda and the Blank Panther become these incredible, aspirational, iconic ideas-continue? That's what it was all about," he continued. 

Many of the actors from the first movie will be taking center stage in the sequel including Letitia Wright who plays Shuri, Danai Gurira, who plays Okoye, and Lupita Nyong'o who plays Nakia.

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" will hit theaters on November 11, 2022 and will honor the late Chadwick Boseman.  (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)

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In the trailer for the upcoming movie, there is an image of what looks like a hand wearing the Blank Panther suit, but the person wearing the suit is unknown. "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" comes out on November 11, 2022.