In recent months, multiple reports have combined to paint a muddled picture of Marvel Studios’ plans for the future of the Black Panther franchise. In early January, Jeff “The In” Snieder shared that he had heard that the studio intended to recast T’Challa ahead of Avengers: Doomsday and that the new actor would reprise the role in Avengers: Secret Wars and again in Black Panther 3. Sneider has a pretty high success rate when it comes to scooping Marvel news but admittedly does not keep up with all the inner workings of the MCU; so, when his report was refuted by social media scooper My Time To Shine Hello, who suggested that the studio was actually looking to recast the role of T’Challa II, played by Divine Love Konadu-Sun in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, most fans adjusted their expectations.
In February, Marvel Studios’ Parliament member Nate Moore addressed the rumors of a potential recast of T’Challa and effectively ended the conversation, saying that until the studio knew what the story was for Black Panther 3, they were not able to make a decision on replacing the late Chadwick Boseman in the role. Now, some intriguing evidence has emerged that might well explain the source of the rumblings shared by Sneider without making a liar out of Moore.
We don’t know what the story is, so I couldn’t tell you whether or not we’re open to recasting. It certainly wasn’t our instinct for Wakanda Forever. I’ll never say never to anything, but it’s too early to talk about any of that stuff. We have to figure out what the story’s going to be.
-Nate Moore
In what may end up being one of the biggest Marvel Studios’ oopsies ever, Senior Concept/Visual Development Artist Mushk Rizvi posted a significant amount of concept art from the studio’s upcoming slate to her Art Station account. Among there were several designs for a new Black Panther that looked to be using actor Damson Idris as a model. Those designs have since been removed so we certainly won’t be embedding them here; however, inspecting the details of those files provided details that seem to support Sneider’s claims.
Each of the six different files includes both a reference to the project they were designed for and the name of the character. The files reference a project coded as “ape” which we believe is an abbreviation for Apple Pie, the working title of both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Additionally, they reveal the identity of the Black Panther as T’Chanda. In Marvel Comics lore, T’Chanda was the Black Panther of Wakanda in World War II and the grandfather of T’Challa. And perhaps most interestingly, the file was created in August 2024, after the Russos boarded Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars as co-directors.
Given the nature of the Multiverse, in which the Fantastic Four is set in a retrofuturistic 1960s alternate universe, it is entirely feasible that the studio plans to introduce T’Chanda, potentially played by Idris or another actor of that impressive caliber, as the Black Panther of his own universe in Avengers: Doomsday and find a way to incorporate him and his descendants into the whatever plans they have beyond the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga.
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