Black Panther fans are calling for Marvel to recast Chadwick Boseman’s role as King T’Challa in the new sequel.
Hashtag #RecastTChalla is currently trending on Twitter.
This comes after Letitia Wright’s purported anti-vaxxer views, and recent rumours of her departing Black Panther: Wakanda Forever due to her vaccination status.
However, The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision newsletter has dispelled rumours of the actor’s exit by stating that the 28-year-old actor is starring in the highly-anticipated sequel, which will resume production in January 2022 with Wright in attendance.
Earlier this year, Wright’s name was mentioned in a Hollywood Reporter article, posted on 6 October, about the debate surrounding Covid-19 vaccinations in Hollywood. It cited an unnamed source, who claimed Wright “espoused” anti-vax views on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) production.
It also mentioned that, in December 2020, she shared an anti-vaccination video on her Twitter account. The clip disputed the safety and effectiveness of a potential Covid-19 vaccine, as well as the safety of vaccines in general.
Since then, Wright has shut down a claim she expressed anti-vax views on the set of Black Panther 2.
Marvel fans think that it would be beneficial for the film to recast Boseman’s role in the movie, in order to refocus everyone’s attention on the film.
“Chadwick Boseman worked through cancer to give T’Challa life. Now you want to kill off T’Challa despite Chadwick Boseman’s hard work and sacrifice? #RecastTchalla out of respect for Chadwick and the character’s history!” wrote one fan.
Another added: “I know this is a bit of a hot take but a lot of this rumoured on set drama of Black Panther 2 might’ve been prevented if they just recast T’Challa. I know people loved Chadwick Boseman, I did too, but that character had more stories to tell.”
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Last month, Black Panther producer Nate Moore explained Marvel’s decision not to recast Boseman’s character after the actor’s death in 2020.
Appearing on an episode of The Ringer-Verse Podcast, Moore confirmed that the studio would neither be looking for a replacement, nor using a computer-generated version of the actor in forthcoming Black Panther sequels.
The MCU producer said: “We just couldn’t do it.”
Boseman, who first appeared as King T’Challa/Black Panther in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War, died of colon cancer in 2020, aged 43. He last played the role on-screen in Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
“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,” Moore said. “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.”