Chadwick Boseman.Photo: Marvel/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock
Chadwick Boseman’s brother Derrick is on board with his late sibling’sBlack Pantherrole being recast so T’Challa can continue inspiring Black fans of the superhero films.
Derrick toldTMZTuesday that though Boseman didn’t specifically say before his death that he would want his role to continue with another actor, he is confident the actor was aware the character was bigger than himself.
In November, Marvel VP of Development Nate Moore reflected on thedecision not to recast Boseman’s characterfor the franchise’s future films during an appearance ontheRinger-Versepodcast. “I’m being quite honest: You will not see T’Challa in the MCU 616 universe,” he said at the time, referencing the primary timeline for the events in Marvel comics. “We couldn’t do it.”
Moore added, “When Chad passed, it was a real conversation we had with [director Ryan] Coogler about, ‘What do we do?’ and it was a fast conversation. It wasn’t weeks, it was minutes of we had to figure out how to move that franchise on without that character. Because I think we all feel so much of T’Challa in the MCU on the screen… is tied to Chadwick’s performance.”
Chadwick Boseman.Rick Rowell via Getty
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“#RecastTChalla is not a call to replace Chadwick Boseman. (No one could ever do that.) It is not asking for an immediate replacement either. Nor is this calling for the prevention of other characters to take up the mantle of Black Panther like Shuri or anyone else,” Noisette clarified. “This petition is merely asking to continue the portrayal of T’Challa in the MCU. #RecastTChalla is a call to fulfill the role that Chadwick Boseman worked so hard for the world to see.”
While it’s been “hard” to plot the upcomingBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverwithout Boseman, Moore said last month that “at no point did we consider recasting.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverbegan filming in June, 10 months afterBoseman died at age 43following a four-year battle with colon cancer. At the time, Marvel Studios PresidentKevin FeigetoldVarietythat beginning production on the film was “clearly very emotional without” the actor. He added, “We’re going to do it in a way that would make Chad proud.”
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Coogler was working on the sequel script at the time of Boseman’s death. In April, he reflected on restructuring the story without his close friend.
“It’s difficult,” hetoldThe Hollywood Reporterat the time. “You’ve got to keep going when you lose loved ones. I know Chad wouldn’t have wanted us to stop. He was somebody who was so about the collective.Black Panther, that was his movie. He was hired to play that role before anybody else was even thought of, before I was hired, before any of the actresses were hired.”
“On that set, he was all about everybody else,” Coogler continued. “Even though he was going through what he was going through, he was checking in on them, making sure they were good. If we cut his coverage, he would stick around and read lines off camera [to help other actors with their performances]. So it would be harder for me to stop. Truthfully. I’d feel him yelling at me, like, ‘What are you doing?’ So you keep going.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveris expected to hit theaters Nov. 11, 2022.
source: people.com
