Replacing Chadwick Boseman isn’t even a consideration, and it’s fair to say that fans of the MCU and Black Panther are in agreement on this, even if there are some that feel that T’Challa could be recast or brought back with CGI. That would be an insult to a lot of fans though since Boseman was picked for the role before there was a movie. Letita Wright could very well be seen as the next Black Panther since Shuri has been gaining in popularity since her appearance in the first movie and it feels only natural that the sister of T’Challa would be the one to take up the mantle since it’s been seen to happen in the comics, and the fans are pulling for it in a big way to start with. In fact it was assumed that Shuri would be taking over for the second movie before Chadwick’s passing, but the progression of the story was obviously bound to change a bit as things moved along. What is known is that Ryan Coogler will be focusing heavily upon Wakanda as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is set to release in July of 2022, and will be bringing back a few of the same characters that were seen in the first movie. It’s been mentioned that Killmonger won’t be seen again, which is probably for the best since it allows death to be at least a semi-permanent thing in the MCU, at least until the multiverse is opened in the upcoming Doctor Strange movie. But bringing Erik Killmonger back does feel as though it would have been a horrible idea since even in the comics the ability to bring people back tends to stretch the limits of credibility, as even imagination can only go so far before breaking the rules becomes a bit tiring for the audience.
Moving forward though it does sound as though Wakanda is going to be the main focus of the movie, but it has to be discussed just who the main antagonist is going to be since a lot of people happen to think that it will be Doctor Doom, but some are even thinking that Namor the Submariner might be in the running. Both leaders have had issues with Wakanda in the past, and of the two, Doom is the one that poses a very serious threat since Namor usually doesn’t pick a fight with anyone unless his home is threatened in some way, and even then it’s been seen that he and T’Challa have found a way to coexist at times, while Doom is a constant threat. Of course, if either individual is introduced it would be a great time to sneak in a cameo or at least mention of the Fantastic Four since people are well aware at this point that the FF are known enemies of Doom and have had several dealings with Namor, which would make it perfect to start expanding the universe a bit more. Of course, that invites a lot of other ideas to start building and coming to fruition since the many heroes and villains of the Marvel universe have been tied closely together for a lot of years, and while Shuri hasn’t always been the biggest influence, it could be interesting to see how she’ll take her brother’s place and how well she’ll integrate into the MCU as a person of authority and not just the genius kid sister of the king. To say that Shuri has proven herself at this point would be accurate since she’s been in the trenches alongside the other heroes, but apart from Endgame it’s still wise to think that she has a bit of proving to do just yet.
The death of T’Challa is going to be a hard thing for a lot of fans to take and it already sounds as though Coogler isn’t going to spend too much time on it, for good reason no doubt since it’s tragic enough to have lost Boseman in such a way. There’s still a great deal of respect to be had for the man however since he did his absolute best to fight through the cancer until the end and gave the MCU a magnificent effort that turned into something that people won’t soon forget. But Coogler is right when saying that people have to move on. Remembering Boseman and his contributions to the Marvel universe are important and won’t be taken for granted, but securing and maintaining his legacy is going to be just as important as honoring what he did and what he helped to start. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is no doubt going to be another big statement to the MCU that will likely inspire a lot of people and keep the legend of the hero alive as the Marvel universe continues to roll on.
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