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Marvel Exec Reflects on Decision Not to Recast T'Challa After Chadwick Boseman's Death: 'We Couldn't Do It'

Marvel is figuring out how to move forward without T'Challa.

On Monday, Marvel VP of Development Nate Moore reflected on the decision not to recast Chadwick Boseman's character for the franchise's future films during an appearance on the Ringer-Verse podcast.

"I'm being quite honest. You will not see T'Challa in the MCU 616 universe," Moore said, referencing the primary timeline for the events in Marvel comics. "We couldn't do it."

Expanding on the decision, Moore added: "When Chad passed, it was a real conversation we had with [director Ryan] Coogler about, 'What do we do?' And it was a fast conversation. It wasn't weeks, it was minutes of we had to figure out how to move that franchise on without that character. Because I think we all feel so much of T'Challa in the MCU on the screen... is tied to Chadwick's performance."

While it's been "hard" to plot the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever without Boseman, Moore asserted that "at no point did we consider recasting."

Marvel Studios' BLACK PANTHERL to R: Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Okoye (Danai Gurira)Ph: Film Frameu00A9Marvel Studios 2018
Marvel Studios' BLACK PANTHERL to R: Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o), T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Okoye (Danai Gurira)Ph: Film Frameu00A9Marvel Studios 2018

Marvel Lupita Nyong'o, Chadwick Boseman and Danai Gurira in Black Panther

"So the challenge for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is telling a story without T'Challa. I think it's a challenge we're up for. So far, what we're getting is great."

The highly anticipated sequel will provide "a level of catharsis" for fans to return to Wakanda without T'Challa, Moore continued.

RELATED: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Begins Filming 10 Months After Chadwick Boseman's Death

"As filmmakers and storytellers, you have to figure out how people are going to feel going into your movie and what you want that movie to say about that guy who's not going to be in it," he said.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever began filming in June, 10 months after Boseman died at the age of 43 following a four-year battle with colon cancer. At the time, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige told Variety that beginning production on the film was "clearly very emotional without" the actor.

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He added, "We're going to do it in a way that would make Chad proud."

Coogler was working on the script at the time of Boseman's death. In April, he reflected on restructuring the story without his close friend.

Ryan Coogler, Chadwick Boseman
Ryan Coogler, Chadwick Boseman

Mike Marsland/WireImage Chadwick Boseman and Ryan Coogler

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"It's difficult," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "You've got to keep going when you lose loved ones. I know Chad wouldn't have wanted us to stop. He was somebody who was so about the collective. Black Panther, that was his movie. He was hired to play that role before anybody else was even thought of, before I was hired, before any of the actresses were hired."

"On that set, he was all about everybody else," Coogler continued. "Even though he was going through what he was going through, he was checking in on them, making sure they were good. If we cut his coverage, he would stick around and read lines off camera [to help other actors with their performances]. So it would be harder for me to stop. Truthfully. I'd feel him yelling at me, like, 'What are you doing?' So you keep going."

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is slated to hit theaters on Nov. 11, 2022.