It’s official: Chadwick Boseman will be the one and only T’Challa. At Disney’s Investor Day, the studio unveiled the premiere date for Black Panther 2, the highly anticipated sequel to Marvel’s Black Panther, which starred the late actor Chadwick Boseman, and revealed that franchise will not be recasting his role of T’Challah, the original Black Panther. “I wanted to acknowledge the devastating loss of a dear friend and member of the Marvel Studios family,†said Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. “Chadwick Boseman was an immensely talented actor and an inspirational individual who affected all of our lives professionally and personally. His portrayal of T’Challa the Black Panther is iconic and transcends iteration of the character in any other medium from Marvel’s past.â€
Black Panther 2 is set to hit theaters (and/or streaming platforms) on July 8, 2022. It’s being written and directed by Ryan Coogler, who helmed the first Black Panther, which went on to gross over $1 billion at the box office worldwide and earned Marvel Studios its first Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Boseman, who anchored the film as the central character, T’Challa, died of colon cancer this past summer at the age of 44. While there was some talk of potentially recasting the role with another actor, Marvel Studios has made the decision to honor the late actor by not replacing him in the sequel. “To honor the legacy that Chad helped us build through his portrayal of the king of Wakanda, we want to continue to explore the world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.†Wakanda forever. Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa forever.