Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige discussed the aftermath of Chadwick Boseman’s death during Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s pre-production.
Marvel Studios faced a difficult decision in 2020 following Chadwick Boseman’s passing. Director Ryan Coogler was already hard at work on the film’s sequel that originally featured T’Challa. Once the appropriate amount of time passed, it was eventually announced that Marvel Studios would move forward with a Black Panther sequel but not recast the T’Challa role.
How did Marvel Studios deal with Chadwick Boseman’s death?
During Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s global press conference, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige opened up about what occurred behind-the-scenes in the wake of Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing:
“Well, I mean, Ryan and Nate really will be best to answer that. In my memory of it, it was, the shock turned into, well, you know, what do we do? What should we do? Should we do anything?”
Despite Chadwick Boseman’s death in August 2020, filming on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever still managed to begin in June 2021. Kevin Feige went on to talk about how the focus of the sequel naturally shifted toward the supporting characters:
“And I think relatively soon, it was determined that this amazing ensemble of characters and this world that had been created onscreen needed to continue. Ryan pours everything and all of himself into everything he does, and had been working for almost a year on a version of the movie with T’Challa in it and was finding and pouring his life experience from making the first movie into that. Then when we lost Chad, all of that, obviously, was then poured into this movie, as well and keeping the idea of a celebration of Wakanda and the character at the forefront, in addition to the grief that, of course, is gonna come with that.”
Disney’s official synopsis for the film reads as follows: “In Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,’ Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba), fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.”
Directed by Ryan Coogler from a script he co-wrote with Joe Robert Cole, Wakanda Forever stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, and Angela Bassett.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing in theaters. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the MCU, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content.
