Making The Case For A T'Challa Variant In Live Action

 On August 28th, 2020, I was heartbroken to learn of the untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman from a years long battle with colon cancer along with millions of fans worldwide. Four months later, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed that the role of King T'Challa, who was portrayed by Boseman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, would not be recast. This also made me sad because now this characters story, which Boseman worked so hard to bring to life while battling cancer, was effectively getting cut short before his potential was truly realized. And while Marvel fans around the world are wondering how the Black Panther franchise will continue on without its leading man, there is also a group of fans that still want to go on more big screen adventures with the King of Wakanda while also honoring Boseman's contributions to the role. Earlier this year, a petition was started by Chicago film critic Emmanuel Noisette (who runs a channel known as E-Mans Movie Reviews) to try and let Marvel know that recasting the role of T'Challa will be continuing Chadwick Bosemans work and therefore honoring him and as I am writing this, it has well over 36,000 signatures. But Marvel is going full steam ahead with production without T’Challa front and center in the film, leading many to believe that the character might be killed off as a result of the passing of Boseman. 

But all is not lost for the King of Wakanda. Why you ask? Well it all has to with a show called “Loki”. In the show, the Loki that managed to avoid being taken back to Asgard after being defeated in the battle of New York in “The Avengers” gets taken in by the TVA, an organization that prevents the sacred timeline from veering off course. Later on in the show, Loki comes across characters known as “variants” which are alternate versions of oneself from different timelines. The kicker is that these characters can look completely different from their mainstream counterparts. And then it hit me, this is how they can still use T’Challa in the MCU.  How can Marvel pull this off you may ask? Well with some clever writing here is how they can make a variant of T’Challa work in live action.

Would a variant running around in the main timeline even make sense?

Yes it would. You want to know why? Because it already happened with Gamora. For the two of you that haven’t watched “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” , the Gamora we saw in the first two “Guardians of the Galaxy” films gets killed by Thanos in order to obtain the soul stone. Come the very next movie, a time displaced version of her comes to the main timeline via time travel shenanigans and is now living there after the defeat of Thanos.

Marvel already proved that they can lay a character to rest but still tell their story via multiverse or alternate timeline versions of themselves. So if T’Challa has the fate that I fear that he will have in the upcoming sequel, his story can still continue to be told the same way.

But wouldn’t this be disrespectful to Boseman or put a lot of pressure on a new actor?

No. Chadwick Boseman was an actors actor and was one of those talents that come once in a lifetime. With that said he set a high bar with his portrayal of T’Challa. But this is how a variant can help out a new actor playing T’Challa. 

When you think about it, a variant technically isn’t a recast because it’s really a brand new character that just so happens to have the same name as an already established character. And since a variant of T’Challa would be an entirely new version of the character, this allows for the new actor to completely make the role his own without having to imitate Boseman. And it wouldn’t be the least bit disrespectful to Boseman because again, it’s technically a new character, so the new guy wouldn’t be encroaching on his predecessors turf in any way.

 All the actor needs is a good script and direction and he’s good to go.

But what about Shuri?

As I’m writing this, we still have no confirmation on what T’Challas fate will be in the sequel, nor do we have any confirmation on who will don the mantle of the Black Panther. But there is a high possibility that Shuri could take the throne and the mantle. So if a T’Challa variant comes to the sacred timeline, would this undermine her in anyway? My answer? A hard no. 

A way Marvel can compromise in this scenario is to have the Royal siblings be the Black Panther at the same time. Why? Because it already happened in the source material. In the comics T’Challa was having difficulty balancing his life as a superhero and a king. So he and Shuri broke tradition and shared the mantle of the Black Panther. T’Challa became the international Black Panther while Shuri held it down in Wakanda. I should also note that when Shuri was in charge, T’Challa was around and gave her his full support.  There’s no reason to why Marvel can’t do the same in the MCU, because it was already done in the Avengers video game! Spoilers ahead for those of you that haven’t played the war for Wakanda expansion for Marvels Avengers:

Shuri rightfully deserves to be elevated and T’Challa also deserves to be right there cheering her on. It would be extremely powerful to see a strong Black man support a strong Black woman on screen. Furthermore Shuri and T’Challa interactions when they are fighting alongside one another are golden and it would be a shame to lose those interactions permanently on screen. Lastly it can be a way for both Black men and Black women to be elevated at the same time just like in the first film. Now don’t get it twisted, I want to see Black Girl Magic just as much as the next person. But if you get rid of T’Challa permanently you’re essentially sacrificing one form of representation for another, which really doesn’t sit right with me.

We can have Black Girl Magic and Black Boy Joy at the same time. Everyone can eat!

But a variant of T’Challa wouldn’t be as developed as the mainstream one.

Yeah and this is the biggest uphill battle for a variant of T’Challa in live action. Since this would be a brand new version of the character, you’ll essentially be back at square one in terms of character development and character dynamics. Not to mention it would be lazy writing to just have him come to Wakanda and have everyone just pick up where they left off as if nothing happened. But a clever writer can make this work because these can all be plot points if this scenario were to play out.

It could really make for a compelling and emotional storyline if a future Black Panther sequel was about a variant of T’Challa that possibly comes from a Wakanda that got destroyed ends up in the sacred timeline and sees this as his greatest second chance. Problem is, almost no one welcomes him with open arms since he’s not their T’Challa. Heck some of the Wakandans would probably be hostile towards him, and it would really tug at the heartstrings if the hostile ones are either Shuri, Ramonda, or Nakia. Not to mention Shuri probably wouldn’t let him have access to the gadgets in her lab as she still doesn’t know how to feel about him. Of course he obviously gains everyone’s trust by the end. And it would really be awesome if this film demonstrates that T’Challa doesn’t need access to Wakandas latest tech in order to hand out an L. Marvel already demonstrated this with the second episode of “What If?”.

 Furthermore, a common criticism of the original film is that T’Challa kind of felt outshined by his supporting cast. So if a future sequel were to introduce a variant of him, the writers can use this to their advantage since by that point, the supporting cast will already be established and well developed so more time can be focused on fleshing out this new version of T’Challa.

Overall it’s very possible to make audiences fall in love with a new T’Challa, and though it’s just my little idea, I think the story of an outcast monarch earning the love of his people would be an extremely dope plot to see on the big screen.

 I have a strong feeling the plot of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is going to have heavy meta commentary on how the king is gone but Wakanda is forever. But the story of a variant coming to the kingdom could provide some meta commentary on how nobody could ever replace Chadwick Boseman, but there must always be a T’Challa in our lives.

Conclusion 

There are still a lot of stories to tell with T’Challa and it would truly be a shame if we have to say goodbye to him permanently, especially when Marvel has the means in universe to have him stick around in some capacity. A variant is by far the most realistic way Marvel can still have him be a major player in the MCU, as it would be a perfect compromise.

 Furthermore, I’m not gonna pretend like I knew Mr. Boseman personally but Roland Martin said that when he texted the now late actor a couple of months before he died, Boseman said that he always liked taking on roles that were a lot bigger than him. 

Chadwick Boseman always played roles that were positive and uplifting to Black audiences. With that said, I highly doubt that he would’ve taken on the role of T’Challa if he didn’t feel like it would mean something to people. He saw T’Challa as a character that could stand the test of time just like Batman or Superman. And he didn’t have to go out of his way to play T’Challa in “What If?”. Marvel could’ve easily gotten a professional voice actor to play him just like what they did with Steve Rogers or Tony Stark. But Boseman signed up solely because he wanted to give people more of T’Challa in any way that could because he knew how much that character means to people. Also not a lot of people know this, but he also signed all the way on to a Black Panther 3! While he was still battling cancer! And they’re just going to cut the story of a character that he worked so hard to bring to life while he was ill short just like that?! I'm sorry but it's really difficult for me to believe that he would want T'Challas story to end with him.

I understand Ryan Coogler and the rest of the cast are doing what they think is best to honor their friend. But in my opinion, it would be a massive disservice to completely shut down a character that Chadwick Boseman worked his ass off to bring to life, while he was terminally ill. Chadwick Boseman always played roles that were Black Excellence, whether it was Jackie Robinson overcoming discrimination to become one of America’s greatest athletes or James Brown becoming the legendary Godfather of Soul, he made damn sure to play roles that would leave an impact on Black audiences. And you know that playing the first Black superhero who was created at the height of the Civil Rights movement and broke down all kinds of doors not just for Black representation in comics but representation in comics as a whole left an impact. A character with that much historical significance deserves to continue to have their story told not just on film, but in every medium imaginable.

I have a lot of people tell me that “oh Black Panther is just a mantle”, but it’s not that simple. You aren’t there for the mantle, you’re there for the character. There were other people who donned the mantle of Batman over the years but none of them lasted long. You know why? Because none of them were Bruce Wayne. Whenever someone reads, watches, or plays something with Batman in the title they are there for Bruce Wayne. And the same goes for T’Challa. And for all I care, if/when Marvel Studios decides to bring T’Challa back and they decide to never let him sit on the throne again I’d be fine with that. Because again, I’m not there for the mantle, I’m not there for the throne, I’m there for the character. And you already saw this is in “What If?”! He had no throne or no Black Panther suit, and you still loved him! You still cheered for him! You know why? Because you cared about HIM as a character! Not just the latest Wakandan to wear a cat suit!

T’Challa IS Black History. He is OUR Superman. He is OUR Batman. T’Challa is Black Excellence incarnate! And nobody understood this better than Chadwick Boseman when he signed on to play this amazing character. He deserves to be in the same league as Christopher Reeve or Adam West and be remembered as the beginning of a legend, not the end of it. Which is why in my eyes, the ultimate way for his memory to live on is for T’Challa to live on and kick ass with millions of fans worldwide cheering him on. Because T’Challa forever means Chadwick forever.

Thank you for reading and Wakanda Forever.