Wakanda Forever- Director Ryan Coogler Shares Original Idea for the Sequel Starring the Late Chadwick Boseman

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever released last month to much fanfare, as the sequel to the 2018 film became the final stop on the MCU Phase 4 journey.

The film centered around the death of Wakanda monarch King T’Challa, following the passing of actor Chadwick Boseman in 2020 due to complications surrounding his private battle with colon cancer.

Prior to Boseman’s passing, the plans for the Black Panther sequel were wildly different from the one we got. After the unfortunate event, Marvel Studios decided not to replace T’Challa with another actor. And hence, the mantle of the Black Panther in the second film of the series went to his sister Shuri played by Letitia Wright.

Before the release of the sequel, we never knew how the sequel was originally planned out. However, following the film’s release, director Ryan Coogler shared some details about it in an interview with The New York Times.

Original plans for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Coogler stated the film mostly revolved around the ramifications of The Blip. For those unaware of the term, The Blip is the historic event where half of the population suddenly disappeared following Thanos’ snap in Avengers: Infinity War. One of the many characters that went away was Boseman’s T’Challa.

Upon his return alongside various other heroes in Avenger: Endgame, Black Panther 2 would have soon followed that story by making T’Challa meet his five-year old son he had with Nakia for the first time. Just like the original Black Panther, the film would have featured a father-son duo, with the child learning about his father’s heroics as the famed superhero.

Furthermore, we learned more about his relationship dynamics with Nakia, as she would have moved on by marrying a Haitian character. Coogler further mentioned that the story would feature the same conflict involving Namor, the Talokans and the US. However, instead of Shuri leading the battle as the Black Panther, it would have been T’Challa at the forefront. He would also be taking care of co-parenting duties alongside Nakia.