By now, we’ve heard from just about everyone involved with the “Black Panther” franchise about the passing of Chadwick Boseman last year. Unexpected and devastating, it’s obvious why so many of his friends and colleagues have been unable to process his loss and what might happen to his most famous role in the Marvel Studios franchise. And one of those actors that haven’t even begun to think about how the franchise can move on is Angela Bassett.
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Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Bassett was told about Marvel Studios insistence that it will not find a new actor to play T’Challa in “Black Panther 2” and will not use any sort of CG trickery to bring back Boseman for the story. And Bassett, who plays Ramonda in the first film, hasn’t even attempted to try to figure out how the franchise is going to try to fill the void left by a “completely irreplaceable” person.
“That’s interesting,” Bassett replied after being told Boseman’s role would not be recast and Marvel wouldn’t use CGI to recreate the actor. “Well I had not thought about that idea, but of course it is Wakanda and they are, in terms of technology, they are so far ahead of the rest of the world that they would be able to bring some of that.”
She added, “It’s a tremendous loss but [President of Marvel Studios] Kevin [Feige] and the Marvel universe and Ryan [Coogler], the director, the writer from before, they are committed to telling [a story] and equally as much as we can, equally planned. So we are looking forward to that. Looking forward to what they come up with.”
As for how the sequel might have changed from its original plans due to Boseman’s passing, Bassett explained that Marvel Studios had to “pivot” because the actor didn’t let anyone know how bad his illness was.
“Our brother held it really close, really close to the chest,” she said. “But his legacy, his loss, the love and appreciation that we have for who he was and what he shared with us cannot be [replaced]… It is missed and appreciated and cannot be duplicated. It’s a tremendous honor and, yes, he is completely irreplaceable.”
As of now, “Black Panther 2” is expected to hit theaters on July 8, 2022.