There's only one T'Challa, and that's Chadwick Boseman. After the sudden and shocking death of the Black Panther star last year, plans were halted on the upcoming sequel as Marvel Studios worked with the cast and crew to figure out the best way to move forward. Very early on in the process, Kevin Feige had noted that there were no plans to recast T'Challa for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, nor would he be added to the movie with CGI.

A little more time has passed, and there aren't any changes at Marvel with keeping Boseman as the only T'Challa in the MCU. Theoretically, it wouldn't be difficult to introduce a new T'Challa into the story now that the multiverse is a factor in the different Marvel movies. Perhaps an alternate version of T'Challa from a separate universe could appear to explain why it's a new actor in the role. Of course, the studio always has the option of merely recasting the Black Panther role as well, as we've seen previously in the MCU with War Machine and Don Cheadle.

Don't count on either of those scenarios happening. MCU VP of Development Nate Moore recently spoke with Ringer-Verse about the possibility, and he reaffirmed Marvel's commitment to honoring Chadwick Boseman's legacy, which means no recasting the part. This was a choice made very early on with everyone on board in full agreement and nobody has any interest in changing it now. From the interview:

"The chances that you see T'Challa in our... you will not see T'Challa in the MCU 616 universe. We couldn't do it. I will say, when Chad passed, it was a real conversion we had with [Ryan] Coogler about, 'What do we do?' And it was a fast conversation. It wasn't weeks, it was minutes of, 'We have to figure out how to move this franchise on without that character.' I think we all feel so much of T'Challa in the MCU on the screen is tied to Chadwick's performance. It's what he brought to that role both on and off-screen I would argue."

Moore does admit that moving forward without T'Challa has been very challenging creatively, but so far, the team is pretty pleased with the direction they're taking. He goes on to describe the experience that fans will have when seeing the Black Panther sequel as bittersweet, as while Chadwick Bosemanwill be missed, it will be cathartic in a way to watch the movie without him.

"As hard as it is to figure out narratively to figure out what to do, because it's a big hole, at no point did we consider recasting him. The challenge for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is telling a story without T'Challa. I think it's a challenge we're up for, and we're obviously in the middle of it, and we're figuring it out. So far, I think what we're getting is great, but the challenge of the movie is to entertain people. But there will be a level of, I think, catharsis in people coming back to this universe without that guy, because that guy and this universe are one and the same."

Fans have recently gotten to hear Boseman's voice as T'Challa one last time, as he played the character on the animated Disney+ series What If...?. We can only imagine what else could have been. This news comes from Van Lathan Jr on Twitter.