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Marvel's Kevin Feige confirms no recasting or CGI Chadwick Boseman in 'Black Panther 2'

Watch: Kevin Feige insists 'Black Panther 2 will not feature a CGI Chadwick Boseman’

Marvel boss Kevin Feige has confirmed that the studio has no intention of recasting the role of T'Challa in Black Panther 2 following the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman this summer.

And nor will the studio be using any CGI to recreate the actor in any way.

The sequel is moving ahead, with director Ryan Coogler once again at the helm and filming set to start this summer.

50th NAACP Image Awards – Photo Room – Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 30, 2019 – Chadwick Boseman poses backstage with his Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture award for Black Panther. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Chadwick Boseman (Credit: REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Read more: Marvel gearing up for Black Panther 2

In a wide-ranging chat with Deadline, Feige laid out some of the plans.

“So much of the comics and that first movie is the world of Wakanda. Wakanda is a place to further explore with characters and different subcultures,” he said.

“This was always and initially the primary focus of the next story. We’re not going to have a CG Chadwick and we’re not recasting T’Challa. Ryan Coogler is working very hard right now on the script with all the respect and love and genius that he has, which gives us great solace, so it was always about furthering the mythology and the inspiration of Wakanda.

Black Panther
Black Panther

“There’s also the task of honoring and respecting the ongoing learnings and teachings from Chad as well.”

Letitia Wright (Shuri), Lupita Nyong'o (Nakia), Winston Duke (M'Baku) and Angela Bassett (Ramonda) are all expected to return for the second movie, and according to reports, Wright's Shuri is set to take on a more substantial role this time around.

Boseman died in August last year at the age of just 43, following a long battle with cancer that he had kept a secret from fans.

Read more: First WandaVision reactions

On his birthday in November, Disney added new opening titles to Black Panther on Disney+ to pay tribute to him.

Instead of the usual montage of the various stars of the Marvel movies, which is seen before each Marvel movie, the whole montage is now entirely dedicated to Boseman.

“Long live the king,” it said in a tweet at the time.

Black Panther 2 is not yet scheduled for release, but will likely emerge in late 2022 or early 2023.

Watch: Marvel studios president Kevin Feige talks ‘Black Panther 2,’ legacy of Chadwick Boseman