Ryan Coogler on the original plan for Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Chadwick Boseman was a shining star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing regal strength and humanity to T’Challa in Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, all while—unbeknownst to nearly everyone—he was quietly battling colon cancer. Boseman sadly passed away in 2020 at the age of 43, and while it was naturally assumed he would return for the sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was forced to take a very different shape after his death, with Ryan Coogler rethinking a script originally written with Boseman in mind.
What Was the Original Idea for Black Panther: Wakanda?
While speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Coogler dropped a few details on the original script for Black Panther: Wakanda.
“The big thing about the script was this thing called the ‘Ritual of Eight,’ where when a prince is eight years old, he has to go spend eight days in the bush with his father and amongst them, and amongst those eight days, they have to go into the bush without any tools,” Coogler explained. “The prince has to listen to everything that’s asked of him by his father. But the rule is that for those eight days, the prince can ask the father any question, and the father has to answer.“
He continued, “During the course of those eight days, Namor launches an attack. He had to deal withsomebody who was like insanely dangerous, but because of this ritual, his son had to be like joined at his hip the whole time. He was engaging in negotiations, fights, and his son had to be right there, or he’d have to violate this ritual, which had never been broken. That was what the movie was. [With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever], I got a chance to make a movie about women. I love that movie so much.“
Chadwick Boseman Never Got to Read Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Script
Sadly, Coogler said that Boseman never had the chance to read the original script for Wakanda Forever. “I finished it, and I hit him up to read it. He was too sick to read it, bro,” Coogler said. “That was kind of how the timing was. He was at a place where it wasn’t gonna happen. Our relationship was really interesting. He meant a lot to me. I found out after his passing from his family and from his friends how much I meant to him. I wondered if he knew just how much he meant to me. He protected me from a lot, bro. Our relationship was one of a lot of protection, you know?“
Black Panther 3 is Coming
Coogler has confirmed that Black Panther 3 will be his next movie, but before that, he’s hard at work on The X-Files reboot.
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