Could An Alternate Earth Be The Key To #RecastTChalla ?

 Well folks I finally saw “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and I loved it! With both this and “Spider-Man No Way Home”, Marvel is going all in on the multiverse saga. But since this is yet another discussion about variants in the MCU, let’s discuss how this all can affect a character we’ve discussed here twice before: King T’Challa a.k.a. The Black Panther. 

Now before I go on let me make a disclaimer: This blog post will contain heavy spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. So if you have not seen the film, turn away now. You have been warned. With that out of the way let’s begin.

Earth 838

In MOM, Doctor Strange and America Chavez are on the run from the Scarlet Witch (aka Wanda Maximoff), and end up in an alternate earth where’s Stephens variant died in the line of duty. We later find out from a variant of Christine that they are in earth 838, while Stephen is from earth 616. Not only that but we also see the Illuminati, consisting of variants of Baron Mordo, Peggy Carter, Maria Rambeau, Professor Charles Xavier, Reed Richards, and a reintroduced Black Bolt. This earth essentially shows what the MCU could’ve been like if Marvel had the rights to all of their characters from the jump. So now that we’ve got to briefly experience a different earth, this really got me thinking on how this could be the way we can see the king of Wakanda again on the big screen due to a couple of factors.

Nate Moore’s Infamous Interview 

In late 2021 VP of Marvel Studios Nate Moore went on the Ringerverse podcast and stated that “you will not see T’Challa in the MCU 616 universe”. Essentially what he’s saying is that T’Challa in the main timeline is unfortunately done for. But keep in mind that words are important. Moore could’ve simply said “you will never see T’Challa again” and left it at that. But for some odd reason he was very specific about which universe we wouldn’t see T’Challa in. This seems to hint that while the T’Challa from the sacred timeline is off limits, a variant is very much on the table. On previous blog posts about this subject I talked about the possibility of a variant being dropped in the main universe but now I’m thinking the key could be a different earth all together.

The Earth 838 T’Challa 

So in this new universe T’Challa is the focus once again. As I’ve stated before, a variant would be a great way to recast T’Challa. It wouldn’t be the least bit disrespectful to the late Chadwick Boseman as not only would it be a different version of the character but technically a different continuity all together so any claims of recasting ruining continuity would fall flat as well. As for Shuri? Well at the rate the main universe is going, she’s gonna have a whole continuity to herself so any claims of bringing T’Challa back would be undermining her would go out the window as well because again, different universe. Oh and as for the claims that no actor would want to play T’Challa after Chadwick Boseman? Y’lan Noel said he’d be up for the challenge!

Now all that leaves us with is what this new T’Challa would be like. I think the way to go is to make this T’Challa more comic accurate. For those of you who don’t know, in the comics T’Challa has genius level intellect and is actually one of the smartest men in the Marvel universe. Unfortunately we never got to see that with the main timeline T’Challa and never will but a new T’Challa would be the perfect way to showcase this trait.

 Also this new T’Challa needs to be a bit more aggressive than the old one. Fans have been clamoring to see Christopher Priests Black Panther adapted to the big screen, and even Chadwick Boseman was a fan of Priests work. With a variant we can actually see T’Challa behave the way he did in the Priest run that defined him as the character we know today. He’ll be five steps ahead of everyone and contingency on top of contingency and the audience will really get to know why he is THE Black Panther and that it’s not just an interchangeable mantle. 

This would also provide an opportunity to provide T’Challa with a more comic accurate origin story. In the comics T’Challa lost his father as a child not as an adult, and it’s the trauma of losing his father is what made T’Challa obsessed with always being in control and being prepared for any given situation as he doesn’t want to get caught off guard and lose anyone close to him again. Not only that but Klaw was the one that killed his father, not Zemo. 

In the source material T’Challa was always the most progressive thinking of the Wakandans. As he grew older he studied abroad and even earned a Phd in physics at Oxford University. This would go a great deal to show how different this T’Challa is from the main one as he had to be convinced into opening Wakanda by Nakia in addition to the battle with Killmonger, whereas this new one will decide to open Wakanda after experiencing the outside world on his own and interacting with the African diaspora.

Add in a slew of new gadgets such as the energy daggers and the sky bike and you’ll have a T’Challa that’s significantly different from the old one and one that audiences can be blown away by.

Old and New Villains 

Another exciting possibility of having a Black Panther movie set on a different earth is seeing new villains along with old ones with a fresh coat of paint. A variant that is a must have for this new earth with a new T’Challa is Klaw. As I’ve stated before, in the source material Klaw is the one who murders T’Chaka but as retaliation the young T’Challa blows off the colonizers arm which causes a lifelong rivalry between the two. When Klaw returns to menace the young king in adulthood he gains a new form as a being of living sound. One of Ryan Coogler’s biggest regrets while making the first Black Panther film was killing off Klaw and it’s understandable as Klaw is a major villain of the Black Panther mythos. However with a variant we can finally do him Justice and even put Andy Serkis’ mocap skills to good use. In almost every medium from cartoons (Avengers EMH) to video games (Marvel’s Avengers) we saw the battle between the king of Wakanda and the colonizer of sound so what better way to showcase that battle than with variants?

Another key Black Panther antagonist missing from the main MCU timeline is White Wolf. And for those of you who only follow the MCU, Bucky Barnes was never the White Wolf at any point in the comics. NEVER. That title belonged to a character named Hunter. In the comics, Hunter is a white man who was adopted by T’Chaka after he and his family’s plane crashed near the border of Wakanda as a child in which he was the only survivor. The irony is that despite being the only White dude in the country, Hunter was more pro-Wakanda than the native born Wakandans to the point of extremism. While Hunter was the leader of the Hatut Zeraze (Wakandas police force) he always has been jealous of his younger adopted brother as being T’Chakas blood child meant that Hunter would never have a chance at the throne, but his love of Wakanda would always override his hatred of T’Challa until one day T’Challa found his methods so brutal that he exiled Hunter from the country. Having Hunter in the MCU would open up a plethora of new storytelling possibilities and plus long time Black Panther fans will finally get a chance to see the real White Wolf in action. 

But the there’s a certain group of antagonists that would be perfect for this new earths T’Challa and those would be the Squadron Supreme, who are Marvels parodies of the Justice League. Which leads me to another direction to take the new T’Challa in.

The Black Panther vs The Squadron Supreme

In MOM the Illuminati all get slaughtered by 616 Wanda while possessing her 838 variant. This is going to leave behind quite the power vacuum for that universe as some of their biggest leaders are now gone. One major consequence of T’Challa not being recast in the main universe, as Emmanuel “E-Man” Noisette pointed out when he started #RecastTchalla, is that we will never see how T’Challa operates as a king and how his decisions not only effect Wakanda but the rest of the world. But with this new T’Challa we can actually see what impact he can make on the world as a leader and as a superhero. 

With the Illuminati gone a new team can rise to take their place that will cause tensions with T’Challa. This story can take inspiration from “Heroes Reborn” in that story Blade ends up in a world where the Avengers never assembled, Wakanda is believed to be a myth and the Squadron are the worlds greatest heroes. The thing is, the Squadron are on some straight up Injustice energy. Another thing is when T’Challa goes up against the team, he gives them the hands. His vibranium allows him to go toe to toe with Hyperion (a Superman expy) and the kinetic energy absorption allows him to keep up with the Blur (a Flash parody)! 

Seeing a Black king whoop up on what are essentially an evil Justice League will show the audience that this new T’Challa is not to be messed with and it will definitely have people leaving the theater wanting more of him. Plus it can give people a chance to actually see T’Challa create a legacy for himself which his 616 counterpart will sadly be denied the chance to do so. 

A familiar yet new supporting cast

Of course with a new T’Challa comes a new version of the supporting characters we’ve grown to love. The biggest changes come with Shuri and Nakia. For Shuri, her variant can actually become the Ada-Ayanna (Griot) in this world. 

In the comics Shuri gains all sorts of cool magical powers as the Griot including, flight, shape shifting, intangibility, invulnerability via turning skin to stone, necromancy, and knowledge of all of Wakandas history. Now she’ll still retain her intellect in this universe, which can lead to some great scientific banter with her brother, but since T’Challa will have his scientific genius back in this universe Shuris lane can be magic which would be a great direction to take her character. And before I hear any accusations of giving T’Challas intellect back will be “undermining” her let me say this, if you could accept Tony Stark coexisting with Bruce Banner and Hank Pym, then you’ll be able to handle two Black geniuses at the same time. Enough said.

As for Nakia, in this universe she can actually be a villain like she is in the comics. Of course they might remove the woman scorned angle for the adaptation of her Malice arc but it would be sweet to her go up against T’Challa and it would cement just how different this universe is. Plus there are the new characters we could get that were noticeably absent in the MCU. We could get T’Challas uncle S’yan, who in the comics was the Black Panther after T’Chakas murder and before T’Challa became king. We could also get Monica Lynne, who is one of T’Challas major love interests from the comics. Oh and speaking of love interests, they could even have the 838 T’Challa already married to Storm of the X-Men (also a storyline Mr. Boseman expressed interest in seeing)!

Of course the biggest obstacle to all this is whether the supporting cast members would want to be a part of this. On one hand playing alternate versions of their would be a great way for them to show off their range as we saw from Benedict Cumberpatch in MOM. Especially if Lupita Nyongo and Winston Duke get to play more villainous versions of Nakia and M’Baku that are truer to their comic book counterparts. However if you saw any interviews of the cast regarding the upcoming sequel at the time of me writing this, they are obviously still mourning and they might be too emotionally attached to Chadwick Boseman to go through with it. Doubly so with Ryan Coogler. 

However if the original cast and crew don’t want to do it they could always give a potential project like this to a new director which could work as it’s a new version of Black Panther. Thanks to “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and DC’s “The Batman”, audiences are onboard with different universes. Plus with Spider-Man and the Loki show, we know that variants don’t have to look sound or act like their main universe counterparts so I personally think it would be a beautiful thing to have new actors come in and put their spin on these rich characters that the original cast made legendary. 

As for who I’d personally get to play the variants (again only if the original cast won’t play them), my choices would be Yahya Abdul Mateen II as 838 M’Baku. Interestingly enough, he auditioned for M’Baku for the original film before the role ultimately went to Winston Duke. And I can definitely see Janet Hubris as 838 Ramonda. But as for the King of Wakanda, my top choices are Y’lan Noel and Damson Idris. Especially the latter since he meets the height requirements (6’0) and he is a phenomenal actor as he demonstrated in the show “Snowfall”.

But if it’s a different earth, how can it tie to the greater MCU?

One of the MCU’s biggest draws is that it’s all connected, and with Kevin Feige over seeing both the television and film divisions the connectivity runs deeper than ever before. So an obvious question is can this hypothetical new T’Challa still play a part in the larger MCU if he’s living in an entirely different reality? The answer is yes! Now that the multiverse is open, and with Kang the Conqueror being the villain in the upcoming “Ant-Man Quantumania” it’s not a matter of if we get an adaptation of “Secret Wars” but when. And I suspect that the MCU might take elements from both the 1984 and 2015 versions. T’Challa played a major role in the 2015 version and the film can definitely have the 838 T’Challa team up with the 616 heroes. It would definitely lead to some emotional scenes of the 616 Wakandans interacting with a new T’Challa after losing theirs (assuming T’Challa will get killed off in “Black Panther Wakanda Forever”). And it could also lead to some iconic scenes lifted straight from the comics such as T’Challa wielding the infinity gauntlet. So yes T’Challa still can contribute to the larger MCU even if he’s from a different reality.

Conclusion 

The Multiverse Saga is an exciting new chapter in the MCU’s story. What the future holds for T’Challa remains to be seen but hopefully Marvel Studios and their fans know that there are ways for us to still have adventures with the King of Wakanda and honor the late Chadwick Boseman at the same time and now that we have alternate earths, it’s 100% possible to do so even if the sacred timeline has been deemed off limits. We’ll have to wait and see but as I said before T’Challa forever means Chadwick forever. Thank you for reading and Wakanda Forever.