Chadwick Boseman’s most iconic role as King T’Challa is on a hot debate among Marvel fans as many are debating whether someone else should play ‘King T’Challa’ in the MCU following Boseman’s death.

Chadwick Boseman originated the role of T’Challa in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but tragically died from colon cancer in August of 2020.

President of Marvel Studios; Kevin Feige later announced that they would not recast the character but would continue the “Black Panther” series.

Even though Boseman is no longer with us, a Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever, is slated to hit theaters in 2022. While the Black Panther mantle can be handed off to someone else, the role of T’Challa cannot.

The petition was set up by film critic Emmanuel Noisette back in April of this year and is closing in on 50,000 signatures. The campaign to have Marvel and Disney recast Boseman’s role has gained renewed momentum this week following the push to get Sony to create another Amazing Spider-Man movie starring Andrew Garfield. “The reason why I started it [Monday] was like, ‘Well, if you guys can have all this energy for all these other characters, why not do it for this character too?’ T’Challa matters,” Noisette told the LA Times earlier this week.

Many fans think this was the wrong decision, however, pointing to the character’s importance to Black history. The petition states:

“If Marvel Studios removes T’Challa, it would be at the expense of the audiences (especially Black boys and men) who saw themselves in him. That also includes the millions of fans who were inspired by the character as well.”

“By not recasting, it could stifle the opportunity for one of the most popular, leading Black superheroes to add on to their legacy. The #1 way to kill a legend, is to stop telling their story.”

“#RecastTChalla is not a call to replace Chadwick Boseman. (No one could ever do that.) It is not asking for an immediate replacement either. Nor is this calling for the prevention of other characters to take up the mantle of Black Panther like Shuri or anyone else. This petition is merely asking to continue the portrayal of T’Challa in the MCU. #RecastTChalla is a call to fulfill the role that Chadwick Boseman worked so hard for the world to see.”

If a decision to recast T’Challa in the MCU is made, it will be a u-turn on what Marvel bosses previously decided. It took a matter of minutes to decide never to recast T’Challa in the MCU. As for the role of Black Panther, for a while, the most obvious choice was Letitia Wright who plays Shuri in the MCU. However, her future with Marvel beyond Wakanda Forever is now very much up in the air.

Marvel has not announced how T’Challa would be absent from the next film in the series, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” but it’s assumed he will have died off-screen.