Calls Renewed to Recast Boseman's 'Black Panther' Character

"Black Panther" fans are calling for Marvel to recast the popular character played by Chadwick Boseman in all upcoming projects.

Boseman took on the titular character in the 2018 blockbuster and soon became synonymous with his role as T'Challa. When he died of colon cancer in 2020, Marvel chose not to replace him in the sequel, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." Instead, his character was killed off.

This was confirmed in the new trailer for the upcoming film Monday, which shows scenes of a funeral procession then hints at T'Challa's sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), taking on the Black Panther identity.

Since Boseman's death, there have been campaigns to recast the character, and those demands resurfaced following the release of the new trailer. It was not long until #RecastTchalla was trending on social media.

"Superman is the 'first' hero, Batman represents what a hero could be, WonderWoman broke up the boys club & Spidey is the relatable hero. T'Challa aka BlackPanther's debut was about breaking racial stereotypes of WHO can be a hero. T'Challa deserves his spotlight," wrote a Twitter user.

"#RecastTChalla #SaveTChalla supports the women in #BlackPantherWakandaForever I/we wish for them to thrive. We just ask that the single most important black superhero remains in the MCU. He was the first black marvel superhero hero created in 1966," added another Twitter user.

"We need to stop kidding ourselves. #BlackPantherWakandaForever is not a tribute to T’Challa or Chadwick. It’s a permission slip to forget he ever existed. And they want you to sign it by going to see it. #RecastTChalla," another noted.

The furor comes days after Marvel head Kevin Feige explained why T'Challa was not recast. In an interview with Empire magazine, Feige said it "just felt like it was much too soon" to cast a new actor in the role.

"Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. 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," Feige said. "The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And [director] Ryan [Coogler] poured that into the story."

After Boseman's death, there was speculation as to how the franchise would proceed. Marvel decided to focus on other characters who were introduced into the original film.

"The conversations were entirely about, yes, what do we do next?" Feige told Empire. "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."