You Won’t See A CGI Chadwick Boseman in ‘Black Panther 2’

Kevin Feige spoke with Deadline about plans for Black Panther 2.

At Marvel Studios’ presentation for Disney Investor Day in December, company president Kevin Feige assured fans that he had no plans to recast T’Challa in the wake of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman’s death at 43. In a recent interview with Deadline, Feige elaborated more on Marvel’s plans for the franchise going forward.

“So much of the comics and that first movie is the world of Wakanda,” he said. “Wakanda is a place to further explore with characters and different subcultures. This was always and initially the primary focus of the next story. We’re not going to have a [computer-generated] Chadwick and we’re not recasting T’Challa.”

Even before Boseman’s death, many Marvel fans speculated that the series would move beyond T’Challa’s reign as king of Wakanda. Director Ryan Coogler is tasked with advancing the franchise, and Feige seems confident in his vision.

“Ryan Coogler is working very hard right now on the script with all the respect and love and genius that he has,” Feige continued. “It was always about furthering the mythology and the inspiration of Wakanda. There’s also the task of honoring and respecting the ongoing learnings and teachings from Chad as well.”

Black Panther 2 was originally scheduled for a release date of July 8th, 2022. A recent leak suggests Coogler specifically opposed recasting in favor of moving forward with an all-new ruler of Wakanda. This ruler is described in the leak as “a strong, quiet, powerful but also broken relative of Nakia with a very unique back story.” The planet of Wakanda will face an all-new threat, this time from Namor, an amphibious villain hailing from Atlantis who will be played by Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico star Tenoch Huerta.

Stay tuned for further updates on casting and production of Black Panther 2.