Divine Love Konadu-Sun, who portrayed Toussaint, the son of Chadwick Boseman's King T'Challa in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, recently spoke out about the role for the first time.
Wakanda Forever featured Letitia Wright's Shuri picking up the mantle of the Black Panther while also introducing the world to Tenoch Huerta's Namor.
However, much of the film also touched on the death of Boseman's King T'Challa, with many aspects paying respects to both the character and Boseman himself.
At the end of the film during the mid-credits scene, it was revealed that T'Challa and Nakia actually had a son, who was revealed to be named Toussaint. The name translates directly to T'Challa in Wakandan, perfectly closing out the film's emotional tone while still paying respects to Boseman and his legacy.
Toussaint Actor Talks Wakanda Forever Role
In an interview with POC Culture, Prince T'Challa actor Divine Love Konadu-Sun was asked about his role in the film, specifically regarding how he got the role, what it has meant to him, and how he prepared to be the on-screen son of Chadwick Boseman.
In the interview, Konadu-Sun was asked about his overall experience playing in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, to which he stated was "very exciting" and "wonderful." The eight-year-old actor also revealed how much the first Black Panther film inspired him, and what it meant to "see (himself) on the big screen:"
"It’s definitely very exciting. It was wonderful. It was a dream come true because I’ve been wanting to do it for so long, and also it was amazing because I finally got to see myself on the big screen, and I’ve wanted to do that since I saw Black Panther."
Konadu-Sun also talked about the difficulty of actually landing the role, which required him to do reads of multiple scripts. However, when he got the news that the part was his, the actor said he celebrated with his parents:
"I hugged my parents and I was just dancing a whole bunch."
The Toussaint actor was also asked about his conversations with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler regarding the nature of Prince T'Challa, and that the director simply told him, "that he's athletic."
Konadu-Sun also revealed that he prepared for this role by watching Chadwick Boseman in Captain America: Civil War, which was the actor's debut project in the MCU.
The interview revealed that Konadu-Sun is also a massive fan of superhero films and comic books. Spider-Man is his favorite hero, specifically Tom Holland's version of the character, and the actor also revealed that he was able to keep a piece of his personal chair from the set of Wakanda Forever.
T'Challa II's Impact on the Greater MCU
During Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia is keeping Toussaint a secret from everyone else. She reveals his existence to Shuri in the film's mid-credits scene, but it is clear that they want to keep his identity hidden for the time being.
It was previously revealed that Marvel Studios always had plans for Boseman's character to have a son in this film, meaning that they definitely will want to include him in the bigger picture at some point in the future.
A recurring theme in Phase 4 of the MCU was young characters coming of age and taking up the mantle of becoming superheroes. This was the case with Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop and Iman Vellani's Ms. Marvel, and was also teased with Jullian Hilliard and Jett Klyne, who play Billy and Tommy Maximoff.
It seems as though Marvel Studios always had plans for Prince T'Challa to become a major character and probably even join up with the other characters previously mentioned to form the Young Avengers.
However, Konadu-Sun's role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was praised by many fans as a perfect, albeit emotional way to honor the legacy of Chadwick Boseman by having the character revealed in such a powerful way at the end of the film.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now streaming on Disney+.
