Upon the demise of Chadwick Boseman this year, Marvel Studios EVP of Production Victoria Alonso has assured fans that the Black Panther sequel won’t use a digital double to portray the late actor.
In an interview with Argentinian publication Clarin, Alonso said there’s “only one Chadwick and he’s not with us.”
Marvel’s parent company, Disney, has been at the receiving end of criticism in the past for resurrecting actors via CG, like they did with Peter Cushing’s Moff Tarkin in Rogue One. Luckily, they won’t be taking that step here.
“Our king, unfortunately, has died in real life, not just in fiction, and we are taking a little time to see how we return to history and what we do to honor this chapter of what has happened to us that was so unexpected, so painful, so terrible, really,” she continued.
However, before Chadwick’s death, Marvel Studios have planned to shoot the sequel to Black Panther early next year for a release in 2022, and as of now, the company is yet to announce any delays. The writer and director on both films, Ryan Coogler, said that he was unaware that Boseman was battling cancer and his death came as a shock, so it’s safe to say he’ll have to completely rework whatever script he had prepared.
As for Boseman’s co-stars, its still too soon to think about logistics. Letitia Wright, who played Chadwick’s little sister, Shuri, in Black Panther, recently said that it’s too early to talk about plans for the sequel.
“We’re just still mourning Chad, so it’s not something I even want to think about,” she said. “The thought of doing it without him is kinda strange. We’re just grieving at the moment, so it’s trying to find the light in the midst of it.”
The latest development is a good news no doubt, but the memory of Boseman still freshly lingers in the thoughts of every Black Panther fans.
