The Marvel Cinematic Universe is supported by its vast ensemble of superheroes and supervillains. Many of these characters carry the franchise’s ongoing storylines from installment to installment. Sadly, the death of actor Chadwick Boseman left a void regarding his role as Black Panther in the MCU, though now it looks like a recast could be possible.
Sadly, Boseman was dealing with a private diagnosis of colon cancer while working for Marvel Studios. He contributed to a number of films between 2016 and 2019 before passing away at age 43. The sequel to Black Panther worked around his death by passing the torch to Letitia Wright‘s character Shuri as a tribute to Boseman.
Now, according to insider Jeff Sneider, Marvel Studios may want to do more than just pass the torch to a new character. Especially now that they have access to the limitless possibilities of the Multiverse. Here’s what Sneider shared on that front and how Robert Downey Jr.’s return opened the door to recast Black Panther aka T’Challa:
“With Marvel reshuffling the deck in advance of ‘Avengers: Doomsday‘ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars,’ and Robert Downey Jr. coming back not as Iron Man but as Doctor Doom, I’m told that the door is firmly open for T’Challa to be recast via the magic of the multiverse.”
In fact, not only does Sneider say a recast is possible, but that Marvel Studios already offered the role to one actor who had to turn it down. Here’s what was shared regarding that possibility which has yet to be confirmed:
“I heard that an actor was actually offered the role this past fall, a couple of months after Downey’s big reveal at Comic-Con, but they turned it down, not wanting to jeopardize their career momentum by stepping into Boseman’s gigantic shoes, which may be too big to fill, even for Hollywood’s most talented Black actors.”
While Sneider doesn’t know if or when we’ll actually see T’Challa recast in the MCU, he speculates that it could happen in Black Panther 3 following the release of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. And, even then, there’s a possibility of receiving a new take on T’Challa given the focus on the Multiverse between the two films:
“It’s unclear whether T’Challa will appear in Avengers: Doomsday, or Avengers: Secret Wars,” Sneider added. He also shared that “it’s fair to assume that whoever is cast as the character will reprise the role in Black Panther 3:”
At the very least, Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler is believed to be involved with any potential recast so that “everything will be handled with the utmost care and in consultation with Boseman’s family.”
Of course, we’ll just have to see how this situation plays out. It wouldn’t be the first time Marvel Studios recast a MCU actor, however, even one that has passed away. As such, we could very well see a recast of Black Panther in the next couple of years.