Marvel Studios Announces Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther Return for Phase 6

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T’Challa, the character Chadwick Boseman brilliantly portrayed, will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a new animated appearance – marking his first role since the actor’s death. In a short time, Boseman made T’Challa and Black Panther incredibly popular and important to the MCU. Sadly, his passing in 2020 ended his time as the character sooner than anyone expected, especially since he was poised to become a leading figure for Marvel. Rather than recast the role, Marvel Studios decided to focus on Letitia Wright’s character, Shuri, which proved to be a controversial choice.

Following Chadwick Boseman’s death, his character, T’Challa, hasn’t been featured in the main Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, he did appear in a few episodes of the first season of What If…? These episodes were recorded before his passing and explored alternate realities, including one where T’Challa lived in a zombie-filled world and another where he was raised by Yondu as Star-Lord instead of Peter Quill.

In a recent ScreenRant interview, *Marvel Zombies* producer Bryan Andrews confirmed that the T’Challa appearing in the new Disney+ show is indeed portrayed by the late Chadwick Boseman, using footage from previous work. This will be T’Challa’s first appearance in a Marvel Cinematic Universe project since his appearance in Season 1 of *What If…?*, which aired four years ago.

The interviewer began by noting T’Challa’s quietness in *Marvel Zombies* and explained how it created a deeply moving and emotional scene.

Andrews explained that’s why they selected Peter Parker – who, like in *Marvel Zombies* and *What If…?*, was re-recorded – to tell that part of the story. He added that the scene could have unfolded quite differently if Boseman had still been alive.

We decided to have Peter Parker narrate that scene for all the reasons we discussed. Unfortunately, Chadwick Boseman was no longer with us, and if he had been, we would have made very different creative decisions.

While Marvel Zombies is the first spin-off of What If…?, plans originally called for a series starring Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa. This wouldn’t have been the T’Challa from the main series, but rather his Star-Lord version – the one who saves the galaxy – and it was intended to be a Disney+ show.

The director of the Marvel Cinematic Universe mentioned plans for spin-off shows and then described it as “amazing” to return to the story of Chadwick Boseman’s character, despite the emotional difficulty.

If Chadwick Boseman were still with us, he would have gotten his own ‘Star-Lord T’Challa’ spin-off series much earlier. Being able to bring his character back, even in the form of the zombie storyline, felt like another way to connect with him, despite him not being able to speak. It really was still Chadwick’s Black Panther, and that was amazing.

Marvel Zombies continues the story from the 2021 “What If…Zombies?!” episode, featuring T’Challa – a character voiced by the late Chadwick Boseman in the original.

During the zombie apocalypse depicted in *Marvel Zombies*, this version of T’Challa was captured by Vision and intended to sustain the undead Scarlet Witch, who serves as the story’s antagonist.

At the story’s climax, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Ant-Man managed to get away, but they were immediately confronted by a resurrected Thanos who had regained control of the Infinity Stones.

The story will continue in an upcoming episode of *Marvel Zombies*, where Spider-Man is poised to make the same critical error that Thor did in *Avengers: Infinity War*.

Although Black Panther is expected to participate in the battle against Thanos, because Chadwick Boseman has passed away and won’t be replaced, the character won’t speak in the film.

Marvel Continues to Honor Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa

Marvel Studios kept its word and didn’t replace Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa. They’ve chosen to honor him instead, most notably with the moving tribute in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Now, with a silent appearance in Marvel Zombies, the character of T’Challa is continuing on screen for the first time in years.

Okay, so I just got a peek at the new animated series, and honestly, I’m not sure what they’re planning for T’Challa. He doesn’t seem to have much dialogue, which suggests his part won’t be huge. And frankly, I think the studio is wisely avoiding the whole ‘zombie T’Challa’ trope. It just feels like it would be disrespectful to Chadwick Boseman’s legacy, and they seem to understand that.

Although Marvel Studios isn’t replacing T’Challa, they are reportedly searching for an actor to play his son, who will become the new Black Panther in upcoming Marvel movies and shows.

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2025-09-22 05:35