Chadwick Boseman was originally meant to meet his son after the blip in the original Black Panther 2 script.
It was a surprise to no one that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was a major box office hit, still packing out theaters even though it came out well over one month ago. And while we absolutely loved the story that director Ryan Coogler and his team came up with, we’ve wondered what direction the franchise would’ve taken if Chadwick Boseman had not tragically passed away before the filming for Black Panther 2. In a recent interview with The New York Times, the film’s director Coogler stated, “It was going to be a father-son story from the perspective of a father, because the first movie had been a father-son story from the perspective of the sons.”
During their interview, the writing team said that they had initially begun penning the script prior to the actor’s death in August 2020. They said that Chadwick Boseman was going to appear in Black Panther 2 in a story that would’ve taken place following the events of Avengers: Infinity War but before the unblipping in Avengers: Endgame. What would have certainly been an emotional ride, the sequel promised to be a real treat for fans to see T’Challa’s relationship with his young son unfold.
For those who may not remember, Avengers: Infinity War saw the titular group of superheroes ultimately losing during their battle with Thanos, leading The Mad Titan to complete his heinous mission of erasing half of the universe’s life. By the end of the film, Chadwick Boseman’s character was one of the lives lost to the snap, setting up the plot for Black Panther 2. The creatives revealed that when T’Challa returned from his five years away, audiences would meet his son, Toussaint, and would have seen their dynamic unfold.
“It was absolutely nothing like what we made,” Coogler said of the original script and idea for the Marvel sequel. Wakanda Forever introduced Toussaint to audiences during the film’s post-credit scene, shocking audiences everywhere. According to the scribes, the Chadwick Boseman-led Black Panther 2 was going to blend animation with live-action to help bridge the time when the character was wiped off the face of the planet.
The animation would have kicked off Chadwick Boseman’s return in Black Panther 2 with Nakia speaking to their son about T’Challa. Toussaint doesn’t realize that his father was the Black Panther because not only have the family members never met, but Nakia has fallen in love and married during T’Challa’s time away. Just then, “reality” kicks in and the whole gang is back, with T’Challa introduced to his son for the very first time.
Nicknaming their original film, “Summer Break,” Coogler and Cole wrote what sounds like an emotional buddy comedy with a coming-of-age twist that saw the titular hero taking his son around for the summer. Knowing that we’ll never see Chadwick Boseman reprise his role as Black Panther, let alone in what could have been an incredible Black Panther 2, is something that we’ll always grieve. But with Coogler coming forward to fill us in on what their initial plan was, the wound has been mended if even just in a small way.
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