Kevin Feige had previously confirmed that Boseman would not be recast
Chadwick Boseman will not be resurrected via computer technology in
Black Panther 2, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has confirmed.
"We’re not going to have a CG Chadwick and we’re not recasting T’Challa," Feige told
Deadline this weekend, while promoting the upcoming
WandaVision show on Disney+.
Chadwick Boseman tragically died in August 2020 after battling with colon cancer. He was 43 years old.
Black Panther 2 is still scheduled to come to cinemas on July 8th, 2022, and Feige had previously confirmed that
T'Challa would not be recast.
Disney has previously used CGI to resurrect characters played by actors no longer with us in the
Star Wars franchise: Grand Moff Tarkin appeared prominently in
Rogue One, despite the fact that Peter Cushing died in 1994.
Feige went on to elaborate that the sequel will focus more on the word of Wakanda as a whole.
"So much of the comics and that first movie is the world of Wakanda. Wakanda is a place to further explore with characters and different subcultures. This was always and initially the primary focus of the next story," said Feige.
"[Director] Ryan Coogler is working very hard right now on the script with all the respect and love and genius that he has, which gives us great solace, so 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."
Chadwick Boseman first played T'Challa in 2016 in
Captain America: Civil War, before going on to headline the first
Black Panther movie in 2018.
He would reprise the character in both
Avengers: Infinity War and
Avengers: Endgame.
Feige was also asked about other elements of the MCU's future - in particular, if the postponed
Black Widow and
Eternals could be heading to Disney+.
"If I had a crystal ball, I’d look into it and tell you. I don’t," was Feige's response.
He was also asked if we could ever see the return of the Netflix Marvel characters, including Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage - to which Feige replied: "Never say never about anything."
