Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa is officially returning to the MCU for the first time since the actor's tragic passing with a silent animated role. In just a few years, Boseman left a lasting mark on the MCU and the Black Panther mythos, turning T'Challa into a near-household name. Unfortunately, while his Black Panther was once slated to become the next face of Marvel, his tenure was cut short all too soon after his passing in August 2020. This left Marvel Studios in a tough position when it came to the planned sequel, but it controversially chose not to recast Boseman's T'Challa and instead pushed Letitia Wright's Shuri to the forefront.
Since his passing, T'Challa has, of course, been absent from the main MCU, but appeared in several episodes of What If...? Season 1 that were recorded before his passing. These Multiversal adventures included a T'Challa living in a post-apocalyptic, zombified MCU, and one who was picked up by Yondu in place of Chris Pratt's Peter Quill and became the Legendary Star-Lord.
During a recent interview with ScreenRant, Marvel Zombies producer Bryan Andrews addressed Black Panther's return in the upcoming Disney+ show, confirming this is very much Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa. This marks T'Challa's first appearance in an MCU project since What If...? Season 1, four years ago.
First, the interviewer pointed out T'Challa's silence in Marvel Zombies and how it made for a "very poignant" and "highly emotional" moment.
In response, Andrews noted that was why they chose Peter Parker (who was recast for Marvel Zombies alike What If...?) to "narrate that moment," which could have flowed very differently had Boseman still been alive:
"Yeah, for all the reasons you laid out, that’s why we chose to have Peter [Parker] narrate that moment. We didn’t have Chadwick. If we had Chadwick, it would’ve been completely different choices."
What If...? is only just getting its first spin-off with Marvel Zombies, but in another world, the first was set to be led by Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa. However, this wasn't the post-apocalyptic Wakandan royal from this world, but rather the galaxy-saving T'Challa Star-Lord Variant was set to lead a Disney+ spin-off series.
The MCU director noted these spin-off plans before explaining how it felt "rad" to revisit Boseman's superhero, "even though there were no words:"
"If we had Chadwick, he would’ve had his own Star-Lord T’Challa spinoff show long before we did the zombie thing. But being able to revisit his character in that way, the way it plays out, it was another way to be with him in some strange way, even though there were no words. You know what I mean? It’s still Chadwick’s Black Panther, and that’s rad."
Marvel Zombies is a sequel to the 2021 "What If...Zombies?!" episode, where fans already met this T'Challa, who was voiced by Boseman before his passing.
In the apocalypse, this T'Challa was among those captured by Vision as food for Elizabeth Olsen's undead Scarlet Witch, the villain for Marvel Zombies.
By the end of that story, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Scott Lang's head had escaped, only to be faced by an undead Thanos, wielding the Infinity Stones.
That storyline will soon continue in one of Marvel Zombies' four episodes, with Spider-Man set to repeat Thor's biggest Avengers: Infinity War mistake.
While T'Challa's Black Panther looks set to join the fight against Thanos, the promise that Boseman won't be recast means he won't have any dialogue.
Marvel Continues to Honor Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa
Marvel Studios has stayed true to its promise not to recast Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, instead opting to honor the late actor in other ways. Not only was Black Panther: Wakanda Forever a beautiful tribute to Boseman, but his silent role in Marvel Zombies allows the character to live on for the first time in years.
It's unclear what fate will befall T'Challa in the animated series, but, due to a lack of dialogue, his role ought to be minimal. The studio will likely swerve zombifying the Wakandan icon to avoid disrespecting the late Boseman.
While T'Challa may not be getting recast, Marvel Studios is reportedly casting his son to become the next Black Panther in future MCU projects.
