Kevin Feige has reflected on why it was “too soon” to recast Chadwick Boseman’s character in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The actor, who played T’Challa in 2018’s Black Panther, died at the age of 43 in 2020 following a battle with colon cancer.

Previously, Feige and director Ryan Coogler confirmed that they wouldn’t recast T’Challa, and in an interview with Empire magazine, the Marvel Studios president insisted they made the right call.

“It just felt like it was much too soon to recast. Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window,” he said. “And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there’s a relatable and human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And Ryan poured that into the story.”

While details about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever remain under wraps, it’s believed the plot will follow the leaders of Wakanda as they fight to protect their nation in the wake of T’Challa’s passing.

And Coogler and Feige worked closely on developing a storyline that honoured Boseman’s contribution to the franchise.

“The conversations were entirely about, yes, ‘What do we do next?'” he recalled. “And how could the legacy of Chadwick – and what he had done to help Wakanda and the Black Panther become these incredible, aspirational, iconic ideas – continue? That’s what it was all about.”

Starring Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Winston Duke, the film is set to hit U.S. cinemas on 11 November.

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