Marvel Fans Demand New Black Panther in MCU Following William Hurt’s Recasting in Captain America 4

MCU fans are now calling for the studio to recast the role of T’Challa/Black Panther. Following the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020, Marvel Studios announced that they would not be recasting his role ahead of 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Instead, the sequel incorporated the actor’s death, opening with a funeral scene for T’Challa which honored the late actor. However, the newest trailer for Captain America: Brave New World (which you can check out below) has some fans calling for Marvel Studios to finally recast the role after seeing the first look at Harrison Ford in the film as Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross.

Long-time fans of the MCU will know that Thunderbolt Ross was first played by William Hurt in The Incredible Hulk. Hurt reprised the role several times in the MCU, including in Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow, and Avengers: Endgame. After Hurt’s passing in 2022, it was announced that Ford would take over the role in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World, in which Ross plays a major part as Red Hulk. This decision frustrated some fans, who questioned why William Hurt could be replaced in the MCU, but Chadwick Boseman wasn’t recast.

The upset fans have taken to X/Twitter to voice their displeasure at the decision. Underneath a post appreciating how well the MCU recasts actors, some disgruntled fans highlighted that Boseman wasn’t recast. “Remove black panther 2 from the timeline. Make a new one with a recast”, one fan wrote.

You can check out a selection of the responses below. Do you think the MCU should have recast the role of T’Challa in the Black Panther franchise?

Why Chadwick Boseman Wasn’t Replaced as Black Panther

After Boseman’s death in 2020, Marvel Studios’ decision not to recast the role was a way of honoring the actor’s legacy as the belovedcharacter. Black Panther was the first standalone superhero movie featuring an African superhero, and broke new ground for diversity and inclusivity within the MCU. Boseman’s iteration of Black Panther became a cultural icon across the world, finally providing young African and African-American audiences positive representation from a leading character in a major superhero movie.

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That’s not to besmirch William Hurt’s legacy as an actor. However, his role within the MCU was secondary compared to Boseman’s. Thunderbolt Ross appeared in a handful of scenes, scattered across various movies. For more casual Marvel fans, it is easier to recast a secondary character (similar to how Don Cheadle took over from Terrence Howard in Iron Man 2) than it is to replace such a culturally significant leading role.

Additionally, by incorporating Boseman’s death into the MCU’s timeline, it is almost impossible for Marvel Studios to go back on their decision. Wakanda Forever gave T’Challa (and Chadwick Boseman) an emotional farewell. The only way to recast the character would be to bring T’Challa back from the dead (which, admittedly, is commonplace in comic books). Not only would this be a lazy 180-degree turn, it would also undermine the emotional poignancy of the events shown in Wakanda Forever.