The passing of Chadwick Boseman, known by many as T’Challa/Black Panther in the MCU shook many to the core. His extremely shocking and unexpected death left more than a hole in the world, it also left a hole in the MCU. As a result, many were unsure of where his character was going to end up, a character that seemed set to take on some big roles in the next round of phases. And within all this, a debate began over whether T’Challa should be recast, or if the character should be left to Chadwick’s legacy. Let’s talk about it.

The role of the Black Panther, especially T’Challa, runs deep within several pivotal storylines. This was likely the direction in which the MCU wanted to take him as well. As many who have read the comics will tell you, T’Challa has a role bigger than what has been put on the big screen, and he even holds a part in an X-Men storyline. When you take a good look at all the literature he was in, it makes him a hard character to write off completely.

Looking from the perspective of keeping Chadwick’s legacy, I can agree and understand those who don’t believe in recasting. Chadwick was, for lack of better words, the embodiment of who T’Challa is and what he stands for. A fair comparison is how RDJ is Tony Stark, and there just isn’t an argument against that. To replace T’Challa in our universe could arguably be disrespectful to what he left behind. So looking at both sides of the argument, what should Marvel do to move forward?

I made sure to be very careful in some of my wording, as I think there is a way that Marvel can successfully keep T’Challa in the MCU without tampering with the legacy that Chadwick left behind. With the multiverse open, the possibility of bringing a different version of T’Challa in to fill the gap and play out other storylines is high. It would actually be quite simple and would satisfy both sides of the argument, as both have redeeming points to them. However, if Marvel didn’t want to go the multiverse route, should he be recast? While the Black Panther trailers are out, and we know how Marvel is handling this, I will say, looking at the facts, I believe it would be in the MCU’s best interest to recast T’Challa to allow the story to continue as it should have. Black Panther is a character with so much potential, and it would be wrong to essentially remove the character entirely. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be quite the turning point, regardless of how Marvel decides to handle it, so we will just have to stay tuned!