Should they recast T'Challa/Black Panther or make Shuri the new Panther?

[Chesterfield]

BobJM, interesting post overall.

Stephan James would be my number 1 pick from your list. He's by far the best actor on there. Your Jonathan Majors casting as a possible misdirect is also interesting but I feel his Ant-Man involvement is legit.

 

[MilkmanDan]

From what I've seen from them, I like the suggestions of Stephan James and Y’lan Noel.

Shuri should keep playing the science geek and it should be Okoye eventually taking over the BP mantle

I think both Shuri and Okoye have interesting roles already. If we're picking a new Black Panther from the existing cast of characters, my choice would be Nakia. She's played by a famous, talented actor but the character is really underutilized.

 

[Boom]

Trevante Rhodes or Stephan James are good choices.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Boyega and Washington are the two I can see geling best with the overall vibe of the MCU as well as the other murderer's row of talent in the other hero performers.

 

[BobJM]

Guess this thread can be closed

 

[CedFelda]

They can recast but explaining what happened to the original has to be determined in order for the story to move forward...my thought was to have T'Challa sacrifice himself to the land where the flowers were destroyed as this is the only way to re grow the flowers and keep the Black Panther legacy. From here you can move forward with the new story and Black Panther whomever it will be.

 

[MahvelBaby!]

Finally ready to talk about Marvel studios decision: I don't think it's the right thing to do...but I understand and trust them to do the best they can.

 

[Kev4000]

Boyega is the only one in that list I would buy for this.

 

[Havok83]

Boyega is the only one in that list I would buy for this.

I think if they were to recast, they definitely should go younger. I hadnt thought of him, and am not opposed to the idea, but that might be a bit too young.

Its too bad they killed off Killmonger bc I think MBJ would have made a great replacement.

 

[WatchProtect]

I think they could say that in T'Challa 5 year absence that a new King was named, but of course now that T'Challa had come back they told this new King to stay in Wakanda so that they wouldnt die in the battle, (just in case) say the new King couldn't fight because the heart shaped Herb hadn't regrown yet so he'd essentially be mortal. Those two reasons combined would make sense as to why he didn't come out the portal.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Not recasting is a terrible idea. I get it, it's devastating, but bite the bullet and just do it. This character is bigger than anybody. Don't rob us of King T'Challa after one solo movie.

If you're worried about disrespect, maybe just delay the movie and wait a while, then recast. It's an understandable situation and doesn't disrespect Boseman. I think they're letting their emotions get in the way here.

I'm not interested in seeing a movie called Black Panther II about the supporting cast. They were fine in supporting roles, but not enough to carry an entire movie. That's like making a Batman movie without Batman. How exciting! You can count me out. This is a big misstep.

 

[eon001]

Re-cast. But if they were going to pass it on to anyone else it should be Nakia or Okoye. NOT Shuri.
MCU Shuri was never written to be Black Panther. Nakia is closer to the comic books Shuri.

I think you could have some pretty good chemistry with Nakia, Okoye and Shuri working as a trio. Shuri as the tech girl and Nakia/Okoye in the field.

 

[eon001]

Not recasting is a terrible idea. I get it, it's devastating, but bite the bullet and just do it. This character is bigger than anybody. Don't rob us of King T'Challa after one solo movie.

If you're worried about disrespect, maybe just delay the movie and wait a while, then recast. It's an understandable situation and doesn't disrespect Boseman. I think they're letting their emotions get in the way here.

I'm not interested in seeing a movie called Black Panther II about the supporting cast. They were fine in supporting roles, but not enough to carry an entire movie. That's like making a Batman movie without Batman. How exciting! You can count me out. This is a big misstep.

They should have delayed it a year like the did with Fast and Furious. Let the wounds heal. Introduce the new actor in in a Marvel IP like Shang Chi, get fans used to a new face and just continue as normal.

 

[Gamma Goliath]

Saw this last night. A lot of it rings true for me.

 

[SirStrangefolk]

Re-cast. But if they were going to pass it on to anyone else it should be Nakia or Okoye. NOT Shuri.
MCU Shuri was never written to be Black Panther. Nakia is closer to the comic books Shuri.

I think you could have some pretty good chemistry with Nakia, Okoye and Shuri working as a trio. Shuri as the tech girl and Nakia/Okoye in the field.

I agree. Nakia makes most sense character-wise and actor-wise imo.

 

[eon001]

I agree. Nakia makes most sense character-wise and actor-wise imo.

Oscar winning actress. Female lead. She ticks a lot of boxes. MCU Shuri as Black Panther would be awful imo. Would be a waste of a good character in Shuri. She's already a genius, with a fun spunky personality. She doesn't need to be anything more than that. It's like making Q, James Bond.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah if you are going to pass the mantle to another character, I’d much rather it be Nakia. Lupita is a better actor than Letitia anyway.

 

[Albright]

I’m rooting for Nakia now. She’s kind of Wakandian royalty, being the daughter of a tribes leader.
Also Lupita is a great actress that was very underused.

 

[Dr. Evil]

I think the reason that the role hasn't been recast is that maybe Ryan Coogler doesn't feel comfortable recasting the character at this moment.

If I had to choose a successor, it would be Nakia. If you think about it, we could be seeing the Ultimates in the MCU once a new Black Panther happens as everyone involved in that team except Blue Marvel are already in the MCU or are coming to the MCU.

 

[Albright]

Lupita already is a Disney‘s darling with StarWars, Jungle Book, Queen of Katwe and winning her Oscar with a Searchlight movie.
It would be a missed opportunity to not have her as leading actress in an ongoing franchise

 

[Deck Rickard]

I was thinking about how they could carry the story forward and it got me wondering about what they might do here. Has there ever been anything about reincarnation or (for lack of a better word) possession in the Black Panther mythos? Because I saw some speculation that they might try and bring back Killmonger to fill the void left by Boseman’s absence and perhaps set him on a path to redemption. But that’s problematic for a couple reasons. First, while a very popular antagonist, turning Erik into a hero after some of the **** he did (particularly to female characters) would be a bad look.

But perhaps the bigger issue is that if you could theoretically bring Killmonger back to life, then why couldn’t you also bring T’Challa back (if he is indeed dead in the MCU). Especially since we know that Black Panther can communicate with the fallen.

But maybe there’s a compromise here? Perhaps if T’Challa does indeed die, and for some reason cannot be revived, Coogler can write it in some way that Killmonger is revived with T’Challa’s soul? Maybe not fully T’Challa but also not fully Erik either. Of course, reviving Erik would (apparently) mean fishing his decomposed body out of the ocean after years and years but I suppose they could explain that the heart-shaped herb preserves your body for decades or something. I don’t know. Just spitballing here; it’s probably a terrible idea lol.

 

[Albright]

They just shouldn’t have killed Killmonger in the first movie. He could‘ve had a redemption arc like Loki got. Also he was never s real vilain and had understandable motifs. And he‘s played by one of the most beloved POC actors.
I wonder how big the part of Daniel Kaluya will be. Will he be again the husband of Okoye, who‘ll probably does the household while his wife is fighting enemies

 

[Dr. Evil]

They just shouldn’t have killed Killmonger in the first movie. He could‘ve had a redemption arc like Loki got. Also he was never s real vilain and had understandable motifs. And he‘s played by one of the most beloved POC actors.
I wonder how big the part of Daniel Kaluya will be. Will he be again the husband of Okoye, who‘ll probably does the household while his wife is fighting enemies

John Campea has referred to the MCU as the Marvel Cinematic Fake Death Universe on his show on numerous occasions, so I don't think he would be surprised if they bring Killmonger back. But I don't see him returning as I would think Black Panther 2 will shoot at the same time as Creed 3 and MBJ is directing Creed 3. I think once Tessa Thompson is done with Thor Love and Thunder that she'll go back to the US, take a few weeks off and be on set for Creed 3.

 

[InCali]

I think if they were to recast, they definitely should go younger. I hadnt thought of him, and am not opposed to the idea, but that might be a bit too young.

Its too bad they killed off Killmonger bc I think MBJ would have made a great replacement.

If they want MBJ, I'm sure they could figure something out.

 

[Mike Murdock]

They just shouldn’t have killed Killmonger in the first movie. He could‘ve had a redemption arc like Loki got. Also he was never s real vilain and had understandable motifs. And he‘s played by one of the most beloved POC actors.
I wonder how big the part of Daniel Kaluya will be. Will he be again the husband of Okoye, who‘ll probably does the household while his wife is fighting enemies

Personally, I'm glad he didn't survive for a couple reasons. One, his ending was very powerful and having him survive would directly undercut that. Second, you mentioned Loki. The Thor movies couldn't escape Loki. Likewise, the X-Men movies couldn't escape Magneto. Marvel has a problem killing their villains, but they also have a problem letting them live but allowing them to take a break. I feel like Vulture is the only one so far who didn't appear in a sequel.

I also disagree with Killmonger not being a villain. I think he understandable motives, of course, but that doesn't make what he did better. A redemption arc would probably force them to water down those actions in some way that weren't justified by the first movie.