The death of Chadwick Boseman in August 2020 didn’t just rob the world of a gifted actor; it reshaped the future of one of Marvel’s most meaningful franchises. Boseman’s T’Challa had a rare weight: royal and yet vulnerable, mythical and yet very human. He was not merely playing a superhero; he was embodying legacy, responsibility, and silent power. The loss spread way beyond Hollywood when he died following a secret struggle with colon cancer.
To Ryan Coogler, the loss was both personal and creative simultaneously. Coogler had already developed a full draft of ‘Black Panther 2’, a script that was constructed around T’Challa. That vision was no longer possible overnight. Marvel Studios was at a crossroads: to recast the character or to radically rethink the sequel. The decision to pay tribute to Boseman by allowing T’Challa to die in the narrative resulted in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’. Unsurprisingly, fans have always wondered what could have been. Now, thanks to Coogler’s candid reflections, we finally understand just how intimate, ambitious, and emotionally rich the original plan truly was.
Ryan Coogler Had Planned A ‘Black Panther’ Sequel Based On Fatherhood, Legacy And Ritual
In an interview with Happy Sad Confused, Coogler revealed that his first sequel was not constructed on spectacle, but on relationship. Its core was T’Challa as a father, who had to find his way as a king and take his young son through a religious Wakandan tradition called the Ritual of Eight. The ritual was not complex in nature but rich in meaning. At the age of eight, a prince had to spend eight days in the bush with his father. No tools. No guards. And no shortcuts.
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The child was obliged to follow all the directions, while the father was bound by an equally strict rule: during those eight days, he must respond to all the questions his son might have, honestly and completely. It is the type of narrative device that is eternal, nearly mythological. By this ritual, Coogler intended to examine the issue of power being taught, rather than inherited. T’Challa was not only a king or a superhero in this narrative, but he was a parent.
Emotionally, the setup promised something rare in the MCU: a superhero movie about listening. Then came the disruption. This version of the story already featured Namor, the future villain of ‘Wakanda Forever’. His assault on Wakanda would put T’Challa in impossible circumstances, negotiations, battles, and political brinkmanship, all with his son by his side.
Violation of the ritual would be a betrayal of tradition. Its maintenance might jeopardize the life of the prince. That tension was what the movie was built around. It was not whether T’Challa was able to beat Namor in a fight. It was whether he could strike a balance between duty, heritage, and love without compromising on any of them.
Despite The Loss, Ryan Coogler Was Excited About A Women-Focused ‘Wakanda Forever’
When Boseman passed, Coogler and Marvel were forced to grieve before they could create. The initial script, which was said to be approximately 180 pages, was put away. T’Challa’s recasting was considered but was rejected. Instead, ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ was a reflection on loss itself. Instead of trying to deny the fact that it was not there, the film accepted it. Wakanda mourned its king. Shuri mourned her brother. The viewers lamented Boseman.
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It was raw, sometimes heavy, but undeniably sincere. However, the emotional focus of the film changed to its women, Shuri, Ramonda, Okoye, Nakia, all of them dealing with grief in their own manner. Coogler has been vocal about his pride in that version of the movie. “I got a chance to make a movie about women,” he said, and the affection is genuine. ‘Wakanda Forever ‘is not the film that he originally intended to create, but it turned out to be a very personal one, a funeral and celebration combined into a single film.
