With the writers of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier promising a major cameo in the upcoming fifth episode, fan speculation has gone wild as to who this could be. Recent episodes have shown the arrival of the Dora Milaje to track down and recapture Baron Zemo
The Wakandan influence on the story so far has been clear, leading many to speculate the cameo could be T'Challa himself, played by Chadwick Boseman. The Black Panther actor tragically passed away last Summer, however, the majority of the Disney+ series had been filmed by this point, making a cameo possible.
CHADWICK BOSEMAN WON'T APPEAR IN THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER
When asked by Vanity Fair about the viral fan theories of a T'Challa cameo in next week's episode, Marvel producer Nate Moore has shut down the speculation. While Marvel Studios often plays coy on questions like this, Morris outright denied the claims saying “that is not going to happen”:
“No. I can say. That is not going to happen,” Moore said from Atlanta, Georgia where he is prepping the Black Panther sequel. “I would be honest if it was. Chad's passing is a whole life thing, and I loved the guy as much as the character.”
The long-time superhero producer went on to explain that they have to be “very careful and thoughtful about when [Boseman / T'Challa] appears,” possibly suggesting that more footage of Boseman's Panther exists:
“I think we have to be very careful and thoughtful about when he appears, because he meant so much to a lot of people as much as he meant to us. But yeah, we wouldn't use that as a ‘Come next week; maybe you’ll see Panther!’ We wouldn't, and he's not.”
IS BOSEMAN'S BLACK PANTHER STORY OVER?
Moore's comments shouldn't be taken as a huge surprise given the series' writers have suggested the episode five cameo will be a new Marvel Comics character played by a major actor. Chadwick Boseman's passing was a tragic loss to the Marvel universe, with T'Challa having been set to play a key role in the MCU for years to come.
Marvel Studios being “careful and thoughtful about when [Boseman] appears” would seem to indicate more footage does exist of Boseman's Black Panther. However, Wakanda fans shouldn't get their hopes too high for T'Challa to make a major appearance in a future project from the studio.
After Carrie Fisher passed away prior to filming her scenes as Princess Leia for The Rise of Skywalker, Lucasfilm used old deleted scenes to construct her role in the film. Assuming any unused footage of the actor exists from Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War, or his several Avengers appearances, this could be used to offer T'Challa a fitting careful in Black Panther 2.
Marvel Studios' What If animated series will see Chadwick Boseman voice his iconic Wakandan king in an alternate reality story in which he takes up the mantle of Star-Lord. Nate Moore's comments could potentially be referring to this appearance that was previously confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019 alongside the rest of the Phase Four slate reveal.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will debut its highly-anticipated fifth episode next Friday, exclusively on Disney+.
