In case you haven’t had a chance to see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever yet, here’s a spoiler warning for one of the biggest moments in the film.
Watching Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has been quite an emotional experience, as you can feel that this film acts as a way for the cast and crew to digest the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman. At the end of the film, not only does Shuri finally find a way to digest her grief but also uses it as a way to move on as Wakanda’s new Black Panther. Yet, that wasn’t the only big moment when the credit rolled and we were introduced to Nakia and T’Challa’s son, Prince T’Challa.
This moment felt like something that pays tribute to their late friend while also building up the feeling that T’Challa lives on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; perhaps just not in the direct recasting way that some usually expect. Still, it was a powerful moment that definitely will stick with many after the final credits have rolled. Surprisingly, it does seem like this wasn’t something added after Boseman‘s passing but has been part of the script but the way he was revealed has changed according to film’s co-writer, Joe Robert Cole.
T’Challa had a child in a previous iteration of the script prior to Chad’s passing. Him having a child was always in the DNA of what we wanted to do. We just weren’t sure, after he passed, about the best way to incorporate him. So there were various iterations of his son being in our new story. And we finally landed on the reveal at the end. There was a point where I think when Ramonda [Angela Bassett] goes to Haiti, we had talked about potentially having him be revealed there. So we knew we wanted him to be a part of the movie in some way, and landed, I think, on the best possible version.
Joe Robert Cole
It’s really interesting to find out that he’s always been part of the film’s script but there never was a clear point when they wanted to introduce him. The fact that they kept him for th ened was the most fitting, especially with how emotional it makes the reveal once we see for the first time. It was especially fitting that he carries on his father’s name which may be something they added later on potentially. Still, T’Challa lives on in more ways than one.
Source: Rolling Stone
