Marvel's Kevin Feige on Not Recasting Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther Role: 'It Was Much Too Soon'

Jesse Grant/Getty; Gareth Cattermole/Getty Kevin Feige (L); Chadwick Boseman

Kevin Feige is recalling the conversations he and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler had about moving forward with the film's sequel after the death of star Chadwick Boseman.

In a new Empire cover feature surrounding the upcoming release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — the sequel to the hit Boseman-led 2018 film — the Marvel Studios president, 49, said the idea of recasting Boseman's T'Challa "felt like it was much too soon."

Boseman died in August 2020 at the age of 43 of colon cancer, and filming for the sequel began 10 months later.

Feige continued in his Empire interview, "[Marvel legend] Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there's a relatable and human element to everything we do."

"The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And Ryan poured that into the story," he added.

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Marvel Chadwick Boseman as King T'Challa in Black Panther (2018)

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Feige went on to say that "conversations" with Coogler, 36, regarding the sequel "were entirely about, yes, 'What do we do next?' "

"And how could the legacy of Chadwick — and what he had done to help Wakanda and the Black Panther become these incredible, aspirational, iconic ideas — continue? That's what it was all about," he said.

Feige first announced that Boseman's titular role would not be recast during Disney's Investor Day back in December 2020. The previous month, executive producer Victoria Alonso said that Boseman's character would not be rendered digitally either.

In January 2021, Feige told Deadline that Wakanda Forever would focus on "furthering the mythology and the inspiration of Wakanda," as well as take on "the task of honoring and respecting the ongoing learnings and teachings from Chad as well."

RELATED VIDEO: Remembering Chadwick Boseman

Meanwhile, Boseman was honored with a posthumous Emmy Award earlier this month for his role in Marvel's What If…? series. During the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony, the late actor won in the outstanding character voice-over performance category for his role as Star-Lord T'Challa in the "What If… T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?" episode.

Days later, Boseman was officially named a Disney Legend at the D23 Expo. Accepting the award on his behalf was his brother Derrick Boseman. In his remarks, according to Variety, Derrick called his late sibling "an amazing person," and added in part that "in Chad's case, it seems that life is imitating art."

"If we pay attention in this thing called storytelling, a story is being told to us all. ... Thank you for honoring my brother," he added. "I want to say: Chad, we'll always love you. And Mom and Dad will always love you. To me, Mom and Daddy are also legends because it takes a king and a queen to create a king."

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters Nov. 11.