Some Marvel fans took one look at the first trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and called for a new actor to be cast in role of King T’Challa.
After the teaser premiered at San Diego Comic-Con, some fans noted that a cover of the Bob Marley classic No Woman, No Cry was playing in the background as the footage emphasized the characters Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the Dora Milaje. A number of fans became convinced that the footage is showing Wakandans mourning the loss of their king, and many have deduced that his sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) will become the new Black Panther and ruler.
After the trailer was released, the hashtag #RecastTChalla started trending on social media. This generated a discussion about whether some Marvel fans are opposed to seeing a woman take T’Challa’s place.
T’Challa was originally played by Chadwick Boseman, a once-in-a-generation actor who embodied the role so perfectly that fans urged Marvel Studios not to recast him after he tragically succumbed to complications from colon cancer in 2020.
However, the notion that T’Challa might be succeeded by his little sister Shuri has fans singing a different tune.
Topside 7717 insisted that the sudden call to see another actor in T’Challa’s role isn’t about Shuri’s gender, but a genuine desire to see more of his storyline on screen.
Another fan elaborated King T’Challa’s trajectory in the Black Panther comic books, and lamented the character’s unexplored potential in relation to other figures in the MCU, including a marriage to Storm of the X-Men, becoming a member of the Illuminati, and thrashing the Fantastic Four.
FayettevillevillainT pointed out that if any other actor who portrayed a hero in the MCU passed away, their roles would be recast so that the storylines could continue.
Another fan reinforced their position by posting a portion of commentary from Roland Martin Unfiltered that featured a clip of Boseman talking about the importance of creating opportunities for Black actors by letting go of the notion that there is only space for one.
JohnSLPaul tweeted that it’s not fair that T’Challa seems to get killed off in every Marvel movie and series he appears in, including multiverse storylines.
Marvel Studios has not confirmed whether or not Shuri will be the next Black Panther, nor have they responded to the push to recast T’Challa and send Ryan Coogler back to the drawing board.
At the end of the day, all of the scenes featured in the trailer are taken out of context. Fear of the unknown seems to be driving most the speculation on social media. The reality is that the fate of T’Challa and his fellow Wakandans will remain a mystery until the film’s highly anticipated premiere.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is scheduled for theatrical release on November 11, 2022.