Marvel producer Nate Moore has said there's "no truth" to the latest round of rumors that suggest Black Panther's T'Challa will be recast following the death of Chadwick Boseman in 2020.
“The truth is, there’s no truth to those rumors," Moore told ComicBook.com.
A third Black Panther movie – one that Denzel Washington had to deny he was ever a part of – is on the minds of Marvel, however. According to Moore, conversations will be had once director Ryan Coogler has finished up with vampire horror movie Sinners, which stars Michael B. Jordan.
"Never say never to anything, we haven’t really had a lot of creative conversations with Ryan Coogler yet, because he’s finishing his film Sinners… We’ll get into it later this year, but everything you read online is not true, if for no other reason than we just haven’t started [working on it]," Moore said.
Ever since Boseman's passing at the age of 43, the thorny, uncomfortable issue of recasting T'Challa has been mentioned in fan circles and on social media. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever largely dealt with the situation in powerful fashion, opting for Boseman's T'Challa to pass away off-screen.
The 2022 sequel addressed the grief from the loss of T'Challa and the power vacuum he left behind. His son was introduced in the Wakanda Forever post-credits scene and is seemingly being positioned at the future heir to the Black Panther mantle, which is currently occupied by Shuri (Letitia Wright).
Of course, the multiverse could sidestep the situation entirely by bringing in a new T'Challa from another universe. Presumably, that's where the "never say never" from Moore could one day lead. For now, the role of T'Challa is being left untouched in the MCU.
For more on the MCU, including the next entry Captain America: Brave New World, be sure to check out our run through of upcoming Marvel movies. Then dive into our guide on how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
