Black Panther: Wakanda Forever General Discussion and Speculation Thread

[Chesterfield]

It's perfectly reasonable to prefer some other character take over the mantle than introduce a new actor for the role.Yes, superheroes get recast all the time. But in most cases the universe is rebooted around them when the actor is changed. Or there is a very loose continuity between installments.

That's not the case with the MCU, which has a strong adherence to continuity. Yes James Rhodes and Bruce Banner were recast. But both characters are supporting characters in the MCU, and both Howard and Norton had but a single appearance before leaving. And the Ruffalo version of Banner has had no interactions with any of the cast members of TIH.

Recasting Boseman, who is the star of a billion dollar franchise and has played key roles in multiple billion plus grossing films in an ongoing connected universe, is a completely unique situation. Not understanding that is, quite frankly, stupid.

It's not about not understanding it. It's about people not understanding the importance of T'Challa and why the character needs to continue. People like to talk about how important Black Panther as a mantle and symbol is but they fail to understand and grasp that what makes Black Panther special is T'Challa himslef. The character. T'Challa in the eyes of Bast is more unique and special than, S'Yan, T'Chaka, Azuri, Suri and anyone else that has worn the mantle of Black Panther. T'Challa's choices and decisions is what makes him significantly different and as the titular character, most fans want to see T'Challa and not someone else. This is where the writers and creatives have to up their game and make sure the character is depicted well enough to resonate. You think Black Panther was created for Boseman? Of course not. He understood what the character is all about and creatively put in the work for the character to be properly realised.

Yes, Boseman's death is a unique situation for this franchise to be in but the show must go on, so saddle up and recast. It's not disrespecting Boseman's memory or legacy of what he contributed but rather continuing it. Not understanding this, quite frankly really is stupid.

 

[Schlosser85]

I don't know what they're gonna do, but if they do want to recast, I could see Y'lan Noel take up the mantle.

I don't know anything about him, but he has a good look for it.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Again guys, let's not call anyone stupid.

Thank you

 

[TheDreamMaster]

I don’t think you guys realize the insurance issues with casting an actor who might die. Marvel definitely didn’t know. From the sound of things, no one outside his family knew. He seemingly wanted it to be a private matter. Marvel would have replaced him if they knew. In fact, looking at the history of film production, it’s likely Marvel couldn’t even get a loan to make a film with the star knowingly having cancer. It’s too big of a financial risk. Read up on John Cazale’s fight with cancer. He couldn’t get roles due to the insurance. DeNiro paid out of his own pocket for Cazale to be in The Deer Hunter.

Altman had cancer his last movie and PTA had to be on set everyday to replace him and finish the film if he had died. Movies are hellah expensive and they can’t put that money at risk, so if there’s a legitimate chance a key personnel won’t survive the making of a film, the insurance is otherworldly.

Yeah, even Rob Zombie talks about how they had to sneak filming Sid Haig for his bit in 3 From Hell, because his health was pretty poor and the studio wouldn’t take the risk.

RIP Chadwick Boseman, he had a really amazing presence on screen.

 

[Venom 1988]

Ryan Coogler Pays Emotional Tribute to Chadwick Boseman: ”What an Incredible Mark He’s Left for Us’

That's a really touching read. Also a bit surprising to see that Coogler had no idea he was sick. To me that indicates, probably no one at Marvel knew.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

That's a really touching read. Also a bit surprising to see that Coogler had no idea he was sick. To me that indicates, probably no one at Marvel knew.

I'm wondering if he told any of his co-workers, bosses, and/or close friends. Main reasons I could see him not wanting to tell anyone would be he didn't want to be treated any differently due to sympathy or people feeling sorry for his condition, thought he would beat it, and not wanting it to cause productions to be shut down due to potential insurance limitations.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I too am surprised about that.

 

[Kane52630]

I don't know anything about him, but he has a good look for it.

He's relatively new, but he's on Insecure and was in The First Purge & The Photograph.

 

[Zarex]

It's not about not understanding it. It's about people not understanding the importance of T'Challa and why the character needs to continue. People like to talk about how important Black Panther as a mantle and symbol is but they fail to understand and grasp that what makes Black Panther special is T'Challa himslef. The character. T'Challa in the eyes of Bast is more unique and special than, S'Yan, T'Chaka, Azuri, Suri and anyone else that has worn the mantle of Black Panther. T'Challa's choices and decisions is what makes him significantly different and as the titular character, most fans want to see T'Challa and not someone else. This is where the writers and creatives have to up their game and make sure the character is depicted well enough to resonate. You think Black Panther was created for Boseman? Of course not. He understood what the character is all about and creatively put in the work for the character to be properly realised.

Yes, Boseman's death is a unique situation for this franchise to be in but the show must go on, so saddle up and recast. It's not disrespecting Boseman's memory or legacy of what he contributed but rather continuing it. Not understanding this, quite frankly really is stupid.

T'Challa in the comics is a scientific genius with expertise in multiple disciplines. His father was killed by Ulysses Klaue and his step-mother is Ramonda. He punched out the devil and was "He who put the knife where it belonged"

This ain't the comics.

Yes, T'Challa is important. And we were very lucky to be graced with Boseman's wonderful portrayal across multiple wildly successful movies in a very short period of time. But this can no longer be, so rather than awkwardly move forward with a soap opera style recast - perhaps "T'Challa is now played by Alphonso Ribiero" in the opening credits? - I would much prefer to move forward with the amazing cast already in place. Hopefully Feige and Coogler agree.

Again guys, let's not call anyone stupid.

Thank you

Yet you liked the post?

 

[Schlosser85]

I'm wondering if he told any of his co-workers, bosses, and/or close friends. Main reasons I could see him not wanting to tell anyone would be he didn't want to be treated any differently due to sympathy or people feeling sorry for his condition, thought he would beat it, and not wanting it to cause productions to be shut down due to potential insurance limitations.

From the way things are sounding, I doubt his Marvel co-stars even knew. Some of them have already indicated they had no idea.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Yet you liked the post?

Because I agreed with the points they were making. Just not the insult at the end.

In this social media age, people are way too sensitive about "likes" and such.

 

[The Guard]

Well BP2 is happening one way or the other.

You don't stop a franchise that made 700 million domestic and 1.3 billion overseas from one movie.

I'm thinking a smaller role for BP and use CGI.

Marvel Studios has done some incredible CGI for Micheal Douglas and RDJ.

Yes, but they've also done some less than stellar CGI work as well. For instance in...BLACK PANTHER.

Nevermind the morality and creepy factor of doing such a thing.

 

[Schlosser85]

I thought de-aged Sam Jackson looked good in Captain Marvel, but I thought de-aged Michael Douglas looks weird in Ant-Man.

Also, how do you do a smaller role for Black Panther.....in a Black Panther movie. Trying to beat around the bush and hide his face or keep it to a minimum would be conspicuous and awkward.

Also I agree with other people that seeing a CGI pseudo-Chadwick Boseman walking around would feel creepy. And it wouldn't be his performance anyway, it would be another actor giving their own performance with Chadwick's face superimposed over theirs, so how is that different from just recasting the part?

 

[Webfoot Hero]

Recasting > CGI Boseman > Writing T'Challa out altogther

 

[weezerspider]

That's a really touching read. Also a bit surprising to see that Coogler had no idea he was sick. To me that indicates, probably no one at Marvel knew.

Again, from a business standpoint, there’s no way Marvel could know. It’s not surprising.

 

[Black Is King]

As ableist as it sounds, if Marvel Studios knew Chadwick Boseman had Stage III colon cancer they likely wouldn’t have hired him for the role.

 

[Schlosser85]

^ Which, given they wanted it to be a major recurring role and one of the flagships of the fleet moving forward, no one could have fairly blamed them for.

 

[Gamma Goliath]

Wasn't he cast before he was diagnosed?

 

[Venom 1988]

Again, from a business standpoint, there’s no way Marvel could know. It’s not surprising.

I wasn't saying he would have told them while he was filming. Endgame finished filming in 2017. Aside from potentially being involved in in reshoots, there would have a been a period of roughly 2 years that he could have disclosed this information.

As ableist as it sounds, if Marvel Studios knew Chadwick Boseman had Stage III colon cancer they likely wouldn’t have hired him for the role.

Chadwick was hired to play Black Panther in 2014, so even he wouldn't have known at that point in time.

 

[Schlosser85]

Civil War started filming in April 2015, so he didn't even know at the time he was filming Civil War. He wasn't diagnosed until the year of its release 2016.

 

[Iceman]

Well BP2 is happening one way or the other.

You don't stop a franchise that made 700 million domestic and 1.3 billion overseas from one movie.

I'm thinking a smaller role for BP and use CGI.

Marvel Studios has done some incredible CGI for Micheal Douglas and RDJ.

The CGI was impressive but they still filmed their parts, ready for de-aging. Without the initial filming it’s a much higher degree of complexity.

 

[Black Is King]

Chadwick was hired to play Black Panther in 2014, so even he wouldn't have known at that point in time.

True. I’m thankful for the 7-8 movies he delivered while diagnosed with cancer before he passed. Chad’s a legend.

 

[weezerspider]

I wasn't saying he would have told them while he was filming. Endgame finished filming in 2017. Aside from potentially being involved in in reshoots, there would have a been a period of roughly 2 years that he could have disclosed this information.



Chadwick was hired to play Black Panther in 2014, so even he wouldn't have known at that point in time.

I suppose he could have told them after Endgame, but the same problem would persist. They would either have to postpone BP2 or re-cast him. If he told them in 2016, they would have recast him. On a film this big and expensive, they couldn’t get the loan if they knew their star had Stage 3 cancer.

 

[Zarex]

Because I agreed with the points they were making. Just not the insult at the end.

In this social media age, people are way too sensitive about "likes" and such.

I 'm not being overly sensitive. I just found it odd that a moderator would "like" a post that ignored a previous issued warning.

 

[Iceman]

True. I’m thankful for the 7-8 movies he delivered while diagnosed with cancer before he passed. Chad’s a legend.

Within a small number of movies he delivered a lot. I really feel he persevered through extreme hardship directly to give this to fans around the world and I’m really grateful.