2021 is a major year for Marvel Studios not only in terms of releasing projects that have completed filming but beginning production on nearly close to a dozen more to come to screens in 2022 . The MCU is set to bring more new faces into the story than ever before in Phase 4, and it will also usher in sequels to heroes established throughout the Infinity Saga.
Included in that group of sequels is Black Panther 2 , which is arguably Marvel Studios’ most difficult endeavor to date. This is largely due to the loss of leading man Chadwick Boseman , who lost his battle with cancer in August 2020, although his colleagues are trying to persevere and make the best follow-up effort they can.
In light of this passing, one of the movie’s stars recently commented on how it will feel for him without the MCU icon.
MARTIN FREEMAN TALKS BLACK PANTHER 2
In an interview with Collider , MCU actor Martin Freeman commented on how the experience of filming Black Panther 2 will be without the late Chadwick Boseman.
As is the case with many of the film’s stars, Freeman still isn’t sure “what that's going to look like,” and how it’s still “very, very strange, that he is not here:”
"Just before Chadwick died, if my memory serves correctly, the script had gone in. They had the script, and they were working on the script, and then Chadwick died, and [I] sort of immediately thought, ‘Oh, okay, I could see a world where there's no Black Panther then, because how can you do a Black Panther without Black Panther?’ So, I still don't know what that's going to look like. And no, obviously, before Chad died, the idea of doing it without him would have been a stupid idea. It would have been crazy. It was very shocking, and still is very, very strange, that he is not here. So, I'm as curious as you are to see what that will look like, and I find out quite soon. All I know is that I'm in it."
WAKANDA WITHOUT ITS KING
Freeman has played the role of Everett Ross twice in the MCU to date, in both Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther . Considering how much time he spent on screen with Boseman in both movies, this next appearance is certainly going to make for a tough run no matter what happens.
Many of Boseman’s colleagues both on and off camera have commented on the difficulty of continuing with this franchise with T'Challa and the actor behind him both departed from the world. However, they all seem firmly intent on honoring his legacy in every way possible as the story looks to expand on the Wakandan world within the MCU.
This will continue outside the big-screen property too with director Ryan Coogler developing an untitled series on Disney+ centered around the fictional African nation. It’s likely that the legacy of the Black Panther will be touched on in this show as well, continuing to show how impactful Boseman’s presence was in his four years of MCU experience.
Black Panther 2 is set to begin filming in July 2021 before its theatrical release on July 8, 2022.
