As you most likely know, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will fully lean into the fact that the actor who played the Panther in the first movie, Chadwick Boseman, is no longer with us. But back when the news of Boseman’s death first hit, no one knew how Marvel would handle it, and a lot of fans were hoping T’Challa would be recast. There was never a consideration to do so, but if there had been, there was a script ready to go.
The latest Wakanda Forever trailer was released this morning. For those wondering if we’d finally find out who the new Black Panther is, the answer is yes and no.
#SaveTChalla is a new social media trend that becomes a follow up to the #RecastTchalla movement. #RecastBlackPanther is also getting some traction. Last year Marvel Made an announcement that they will not recast T’Challa as respect to Chadwick Boseman‘s legacy. Some fans are against the recasting because they think he is like that song Beyonce stole from Neyo, Irreplaceable. There is an online petition at Change.org that already garnered 50 thousand as of the writing of this article. T’Challa brings diversity that fans wanted. A Black character created for Black people and not another race swapped Ginger character.
#RecastTchalla is currently dividing the netizens online. Some fans started the campaign #RecastTchalla because they want the legacy of the character to continue. Recasting characters had been around for centuries. I mean look at how many actors had played James Bond throughout the years. Some of the Bond actors already passed away too but the recastings never deleted their legacy.
Marvel Studios revealed its release plans for the next three years today, and went beyond just the usual conference call or press release…they sent out a three-minute trailer, scored by the familiar opening theme, full of classic clips from movies past (including an audience reaction video) and narrated by a Stan Lee recording. The whole production is intended as one big, giant “WELCOME BACK TO THE THEATERS” sign. (You got the vaccine, right?)
As you all know by now, actor Chadwick Boseman tragically passed away last weekend after a nearly five-year battle with colon cancer. Boseman chose to tell no one about his illness and keep working as long as he could. It’s behavior fitting of a true king, which is why Boseman’s most iconic role fits him so well: the Marvel superhero Black Panther.
Black Panther wowed fans and critics for a large variety of reasons. One of which was the dual set of post-credits sequences. The first was a powerful scene at the UN where T’Challa talked about coming together as “one tribe”, a message very much needed in the world today. The second though showed Bucky Barnes, formerly the Winter Soldier, in good health and out of his cryo pod that we saw him in during the end of Captain America: Civil War.
After an incredible five week reign where all newcomers were soundly defeated in combat, who could possibly challenge King T’Challa of Wakanda for his throne? He was finally bested this weekend — by giant robots. Killmonger should have thought of using those.
To say that Black Panther was a success at the box office is by and large one of the biggest understatements of the year. The film has broken records left and right, and is now one of the top-grossing films of all time…and it hasn’t even been out a month. So, we’re getting a sequel to the film, right? That was the question Entertainment Weekly posed to Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, and this was his answer:
Black Panther was a mega super colossal hit…and every other adjective you can use to define a 200+ million dollar box office get in its first four days at the box office. The film broke down barriers, expectations, and stereotypes, and that’ll no doubt add to the superhero films that come out in the future, regardless of brand. However, that doesn’t mean that the film didn’t have questions from fans. For as great as the film was, there some oddities that viewers pointed out, one of which stemmed from the end credits sequence.
So…that happened. Leading up to the release of Black Panther, there was a slew of estimates as to what it would do. First, there was a guess of about $100 million, which would’ve honestly been fair given past Marvel movies featuring solo characters. In fact, only Iron Man had breached 100 million in his solo debut. Then, estimates said it would be around $140 million, then $160 million, and it kept getting higher. But now, we know that in its first three days, the film made an astounding $192 million dollars at the domestic box office.
You’d think after nearly ten years of films set in one universe that Marvel would be running out of ways to tell good stories, or that the “origin stories” of their heroes would be getting old. Yet, with the arrival of Black Panther, we can happily say that it’s not the case. This is a very special film that definitely belongs here in this place and time. It makes good on its premise, and makes great use of its characters, all the while, making up for some of the shortcomings of other Marvel films.