Speaking recently with The Hollywood Reporter, Lupita Nyong’o, who plays Nakia, defended their decision to not recast Boseman’s role in the upcoming sequel. First, she praised director Ryan Coogler for honoring the legacy of the late actor. “Ryan wrote something that so honored the truth of what every one of us was feeling, those of us who knew Chadwick,” she said. “He created something that could honor that and carry the story forward. By the end, I was weeping.”
The Oscar winner went on to explain why not recasting T’Challa was the right choice for the upcoming film and why she believes that they should stand with that decision despite the disagreements from some fans. “That is not the death of the Black Panther, that’s the whole point. It’s laying to rest [T’Challa] and allowing for real life to inform the story of the movies. I know that there are all sorts of reasons why people want him to be recast, but I don’t have the patience. I don’t have the presence of mind, or I don’t have the objectivity to argue with that. I don’t. I’m very biased,” she said. Whether you agree with Marvel’s decision or not, we do have to consider that they made the decision with what they believed was right for the film. We will never know if this is actually a smart decision until we see it in a few weeks and, under Coogler’s direction, there is no reason to doubt that they didn’t do a lot of consideration when they were making the decision. Also Read: Black Panther 2’s Designer Chose White To Honor Chadwick Boseman’s Death Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is slated for release in theaters this November 11. You can check more details about it here.