Black Panther 2, also known as Wakanda Forever, was a highly anticipated film that was unfortunately impacted by the unexpected death of its lead actor, Chadwick Boseman.
In an interview with The New York Times, director Ryan Coogler revealed that the original plot for the sequel was centered around a father-son relationship between T’Challa, played by Boseman, and his son Toussaint.
The story was set to explore the dynamic between the two characters after T’Challa had been absent for five years due to the “Blip,” a plot point from Infinity War. Coogler and screenwriter Joe Robert Cole had planned for the film to focus on T’Challa’s struggles with learning how to be a father.
However, after Boseman’s death from colon cancer in 2020, the filmmakers decided not to recast the role and instead altered the storyline. The details of the revised plot have not been publicly disclosed.
Black Panther 2 Original Script
According to Ryan Coogler, the original script for Black Panther 2 was set to begin with an animated sequence featuring Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) questioning Toussaint about his memories of his father.
This would have been followed by a scene showing T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman, meeting his son for the first time after being brought back from the Blip. The rest of the film was going to explore the relationship between T’Challa and Toussaint as T’Challa navigated the challenges of co-parenting and eventually joined his son on a mission to save the world.
Coogler shared that in the script, T’Challa was portrayed as a father who had been absent from his son’s life for five years and that the film was meant to focus on their reunion and the rebuilding of their relationship. The opening scene would have revealed that Toussaint was unaware that his father was the Black Panther.
According to director Ryan Coogler, the original script for Black Panther 2 was set to feature a story element in which T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman, meets his son Toussaint for the first time after being brought back from the Blip.
In the script, Toussaint had never met his father and Nakia, played by Lupita Nyong’o, was married to someone else. The film was going to explore the relationship between T’Challa and Toussaint as T’Challa navigated the challenges of co-parenting and eventually joined his son on a mission to save the world.
However, due to Boseman’s passing, the film had to be rewritten and the details of the revised plot have not been disclosed. Black Panther 2, also known as Wakanda Forever, was released in theaters last month and made over $180 million in its opening weekend in the US.
The writers ultimately decided to include the story element in an end credits scene, introducing Toussaint to T’Challa’s sister Shuri, played by Letitia Wright.