Marvel fans and audiences around the world were devastated last year to hear of Chadwick Boseman's untimely death. The actor sadly passed away in August of 2020 from cancer and it was a shock to many. During the pandemic, the public hadn't seen Boseman's decline in health and fans went from seeing him starring in projects like 21 Bridges, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Get On Up and more to him being gone in what felt like moments. But there was one role that many people loved above others - T'Challa in Marvel's Black Panther.
Chadwick made waves as the king of Wakanda in arguably one of the best Marvel films. He connected with audiences, bringing a complex, diverse personality to life on screen and his passing led to many questions about Black Panther's future in the Marvel universe. It was announced that no, Marvel would not be recasting T'Challa, but some fans are now petitioning Marvel to change its mind and recast the character for T'Challa's legacy to live on.
Movieweb has spotted a video and petition from Eman's Movie Reviews which has gained some traction amongst those that want T'Challa to be recast. And Emmanuel "E-Man" Noisette, has made it clear, it's not because he wants Chadwick's legacy compromised; it's because Black Panther's story deserves to go on.
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The blog he posted to explain the #RecastTChalla petition goes through what the movement is about, and what it's not about too. Because a full reboot of the MCU is very unlikely, it does seem reasonable to assume T'Challa will not reappear if the character is not recast which E-Man thinks would be a waste of what Boseman worked on to create.
"There is no need to double down on the already tragic pain of losing Chadwick, only to compound that with losing the character of T'Challa as well."
"Recasting the role of T'Challa is actually a move to show even more respect. Roles get recast when the character and their story are deemed too important to lose. Marvel's demonstrated that with the character of Bruce [The Hulk] Banner (Mark Ruffalo for Ed Norton) and James ['War Machine'] Rhodes (Don Cheadle for Terrence Howard). Unlike in sports where you can retire one's jersey, the greatest honour is to be part of a linage of character portrayals as we've seen with other popular fictional characters. (e.g. Bond, Superman, Batman, etc.) When you do not recast, it gives off the indication that the character is expendable and replaceable."
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The argument is compelling, certainly, but will Marvel listen to these fans? It's a complex decision no doubt about it, and has to be handled with a lot of care for Chadwick and T'Challa's legacies. If you want to see the petition people are signing to T'Challa recast, you can sign or just read about it here.
Featured Image Credit: Disney