Marvel Nixed A CGI Option For Filming Black Panther 2 Without Chadwick Boseman

With production slated to begin in 2021, Marvel is still working out how to film Black Panther 2 without Chadwick Boseman. Marvel Studios EVP Victoria Alonso told Argentinian newspaper Clarín that the team is trying to determine the right course of action but noted a CGI body double is off the table, per The Wrap's translation. When asked if the film would go that route, Alonso said, "No. There's only one Chadwick and he's not with us."

"Our king, unfortunately, has died in real life, not just in fiction," the Marvel exec added, "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."

In the same interview, Alonso reflected on the why Boseman's portrayal of King T'Challa was so significant for the studio. She praised the actor both personally and professionally, calling him "a wonder of a human being every day for the five years that we spent together," and noting that "what he did elevated us as a company, and has left his moment in history." Now, the company has to "think carefully" about how they're going to "honor the franchise," she added.

Boseman's family announced on Aug. 28 that the actor died at the age of 43 in his home, following a private four-year battle with colon cancer. In their Instagram announcement, Boseman's relatives noted that he'd secretly "persevered through it all," filming such projects as Marshall, Da 5 Bloods, and August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom "between countless surgeries and chemotherapy."

The late actor's Black Panther co-star and on-screen little sister, Letitia Wright, recently said that it will be "strange" filming without Boseman. "We're just still mourning Chad, so it's not something I even want to think about," she told Net-a-Porter in October. "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."

Referencing the comic books' storylines, some MCU fans have theorized that Wright's Shuri will become the Black Panther in the 2018 film's sequel. No matter what happens, though, Boseman will forever be Wakanda's irreplaceable, original superhero.