How Chadwick Boseman’s death in ‘Black Panther 2’ impacts

Some free association about the shocking loss of an actor whose success felt like the beginning of a more inclusive Hollywood, and whose flagship franchise is now too important to be retired.

As I have pointed out in the few times I have written posts of this nature, this is not intended to be an obituary (Odie Henderson wrote a beautiful one in RogerEbert.com), nor a career retrospective (rental 42 Arise, O gods of Egypt and, if you have Netflix
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, clock Give 5 Bloods). It is a commercially specific item related to a specific franchise that is now in crisis due to the shocking passing of a specific actor. And if anything, the focus on franchising and intellectual property over the past decade has made this kind of thing more common. When Robin Williams died six years ago, there was little to do but grieve and search for some of his best work. But the likes of Carrie Fisher, Paul Walker, and, yes, Chadwick Boseman are tied to a specific ongoing franchise that will presumably continue after their passing.

Chadwick Boseman’s rise through the portrayal of real-life historical figures (Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and Thurgood Marshall) was an ordinary joke (Was Black Panther Will it be structured like a biopic?) And a testament to his talent. Their performances as Robinson and Brown were as diametrically opposite as you can imagine, and their searing charisma in small roles in Draft Day, Give 5 Bloods what if, Gods of egypt (where his hilarious annoyance at having to help two idiotic white heroes makes for a delicious meta performance) was the definition of “star power.” But could he become a “butts in the seats” movie star, along the lines of (relatively speaking) Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington and Will Smith? In a fair industry, you’d get the same star vehicle opportunities given to the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Michael Fassbender and Josh Brolin as a matter of course.

But pretending that his biggest shock wasn’t his four turns playing T’Challa, Prince, and then King of Wakanda in the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be disingenuous. And it’s no more a slight to say that Chadwick is defined in the eyes of many general moviegoers by Black Panther than it would be to argue that Harrison Ford’s performances as Han Solo and Indiana Jones were in fact more shocking to the masses than his roles. in The Mosquito Coast or Morning glory. So her shocking death at the age of 43 from colon cancer does impact the ongoing artistic and commercial plans for Ryan Coogler. Black panther 2 and the MCU as a whole, just like the deaths of Carrie Fisher and Paul Walker impacted Star Wars and The fast and the furious. So where does the franchise go from there?

First of all, there will be a Black panther 2 somehow opening on May 6, 2022 or sometime after. Black Panther made $ 700 million in North America and $ 1.346 billion worldwide, bigger than (without inflation) any solo superhero movie. And while its success showed that comic book / superhero fans and the general public had no problem with a black superhero or an existing story in a fantastic African country, it obviously also appealed to black audiences who had little interest or knowledge in Marvel Cinematic Universe. The franchise means too commercially for Walt Disney now-franchise-lite
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And your earned goodwill means too much for a post-Endgame MCU to exist as a single movie. And yes, the franchise means too much to too many fans. So the question is whether to rephrase T’Challa or acknowledge reality by writing it.

One of the benefits of Marvel’s commitment to the great cast of heroes and supporting helpers is that almost every marquee character has a possible sub waiting on things. If Paul Rudd couldn’t do Ant-Man 3, Evangeline Lilly’s Wasp would go alone. If Chris Hemsworth retired Thor: love and thunder, then Jane Foster and / or Valkyrie would take the hammer, which is essentially what is happening anyway. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 featured an entire team of potential substitute Guardians who might have been called up if Disney hadn’t rehired James Gunn and Dave Bautista, Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana declined to return. If Marvel ever needs a Iron man 4, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts and / or Don Cheadle’s War Machine are ready to adapt. In different circumstances, letting Letitia Wright’s Shuri take over as Black Panther / ruler of Wakanda would be an easy decision.

However, the character of T’Challa is arguably more important to the general public than other MCU characters and the actor who played him. Marquee characters are more important than movie stars. People showed up to jester and Bohemian Rhapsody Rocketman because they wanted Joker and Freddy Mercury movies, not because they were willing to support Joaquin Phoenix and Rami Malek. The awakening of the force and Black Panther did not do Pacific Rim: Uprising or 21 bridges in hits. This is not an original character created by a specific actor, like Paul Walker’s Bryan Mills or Carrie Fisher’s Lea Organa. Without context, this would be a bit different than Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton in Batman forever. It can be argued that simply having the character of T’Challa alive even with a different actor, is of equal / greater value compared to Boseman’s performance that exists as the only live-action incarnation.

The “good” news is that both options – letting someone else become the ruler of Wakanda or recasting T’Challa – are reasonable options that probably won’t negatively affect Black panther 2Commercial or artistic reception. Black panther 2 was always going to be huge, so this won’t be a dark Knight/Furious 7 situation where the deaths of Heath Ledger and Paul Walker turn their respective sequels into much greater successes. Still, the great spate of blog posts from “random celebrities expressing sadness over the death of Chadwick Boseman” that we’ve seen since Friday are a taste of things to come as implicit marketing for Black panther 2. Like all media events for Furious 7 became an opportunity for Vin Diesel or other filmmakers associated with Fast and Furious To toast your fallen comrade, too, intentionally or not, all statements (presumably genuine) about Boseman will turn into SEO-friendly media coverage.

What its potential ongoing commercial and critical success might have meant to the next generation of black (and non-white) actors means complications relating to Black panther 2 they are the smallest portion of a greater tragedy. Chadwick Boseman’s prominent role in 42 He pointed to a strong (non-white) hope that he could be a true movie star, given the opportunities they offered to his white peers as a matter of course. But in terms of what it means for Black panther 2, it just means the movie will have to rephrase or find someone else in the movie’s solid supporting cast (be it Wright or someone else) to be the main hero in the next chapter. Whatever happens to the MCU sequel, Boseman will take his place alongside James Dean and Bruce Lee. It is cruelly ironic that Boseman’s short life is now being turned into a great biopic.