Black Panther Appreciation 2020

[Mekk80s]

(Sigh) Listen, until i hear actual news and confirmation of anything regarding BP in the MCU everything else is spam. God, I swear people annoy the hell out of me this fake concern of anything regarding some form of social issue. I don't even bother.

[chief12d]

Yea it sounds like they may be recasting. Unless the idea is that between now (or about 2 months back) and July 2021 Coogler is supposed to have a whole new script. Although I'm not sure that timeframe is feasible and they're already looking to cast new roles, so it's very likely the script hasn't changed significantly. BP2 was originally supposed to go into production by March 2021, so you have a 4-5 month delay and they're already trying to cast a new role, which sounds like not much might be slowing them down. A whole new script and story should take a lot more time than this, I think.

Things are moving a lot faster than I expected. I thought mid 2021 would be when they'd announce what their plans are, but that's the start of production. I do hope that Coogler is/was involved in the decision process. I'd hate to let him go regardless of what happens in the next film.

I agree the timeframe doesn't lend itself to Coogler having much time to change the script, unless of course, they're rushing it and/or just inserting Shuri where T'Challa would've been. But that seems highly unlikely because they could easily have just pushed the film back without controversy. Then again, if they were gonna recast you'd think they'd push the film back anyways just to let people mourn a bit longer before getting a new T'Challa. It's definitely strange and you're right that Coogler needs to be as comfortable with the decision and pacing of everything.

eh, that is Okoye though. The other strong black woman in the movie that people loved.

And that isn't even bringing up Nakia, who has seemingly been forgotten since she wasn't in IW/EG at all (weirdly, what was that about?)

IDK why Shuri can't just be MCU Shuri. Snarky lil sister lab rat who can fight in a pinch but that ain't what she is.

I don't think Disney recasts knowing there's gonna be a lot of disappointed Shuri supporters without throwing them a bone. Keeping her in a lab during the whole trilogy and not prepping her as a successor won't go over well, so putting her in the field as T'Challa's protégé of sorts is a good compromise. T'Challa stays around while she can be a badass too and maybe be a hero somewhere else (Young Avengers/D+?).

Maybe if T'Challa's future wasn't up in the air for months on end they'd leave her as is, but the idea of Shuri taking over has been floated with enough seriousness among fans that they have no choice but to at least give her something now. That's what happens when you give people hope and expectations lol. And with the new focus on legacies Disney probably wants another Black Panther in the next 7-10 years and that's plenty of time to get Shuri ready while letting T'Challa shine.

I definitely think Okoye gets pushed to the background though. Nakia's the love interest and the actress is bigger while Shuri's the heir until T'Challa gets married and has a kid. Okoye isn't quite as important. She's just a badass warrior and those are a dime a dozen in T'Challa's supporting cast. I'd argue she's the least essential side character in the franchise, especially since T'Challa has never really needed bodyguards anyway.

Plus if they plan on expanding the BP world with new characters like Vibraxas and Kaspar Cole, Okoye is the easiest character to shave screentime away from.

[Frontier]

I don't think Disney recasts knowing there's gonna be a lot of disappointed Shuri supporters without throwing them a bone. Keeping her in a lab during the whole trilogy and not prepping her as a successor won't go over well, so putting her in the field as T'Challa's protégé of sorts is a good compromise. T'Challa stays around while she can be a badass too and maybe be a hero somewhere else (Young Avengers/D+?).

Maybe if T'Challa's future wasn't up in the air for months on end they'd leave her as is, but the idea of Shuri taking over has been floated with enough seriousness among fans that they have no choice but to at least give her something now. That's what happens when you give people hope and expectations lol. And with the new focus on legacies Disney probably wants another Black Panther in the next 7-10 years and that's plenty of time to get Shuri ready while letting T'Challa shine.

I definitely think Okoye gets pushed to the background though. Nakia's the love interest and the actress is bigger while Shuri's the heir until T'Challa gets married and has a kid. Okoye isn't quite as important. She's just a badass warrior and those are a dime a dozen in T'Challa's supporting cast. I'd argue she's the least essential side character in the franchise, especially since T'Challa has never really needed bodyguards anyway.

Plus if they plan on expanding the BP world with new characters like Vibraxas and Kaspar Cole, Okoye is the easiest character to shave screentime away from.

They already showed her in action during the climax and in the Avengers movies, so it's not unlikely we'll see her in the field a bit more along with the lab work.

I think Okoye is too popular or recognizable to just relegate to the background. She's now the second most prominent female Wakandan within comics and media at this point. I can imagine them involving her in whatever redemption arc or continuation they do with W'Kabi (if they do anything at all) and giving her plenty of action scenes. Not that I don't expect Nakia to get her fair share either.

[Ezyo1000]

Because according to some people, she became BP in the comics which makes it mandatory for her to become the same in the movies.

Sometimes the opinions you see on Twitter just makes you want to punch your laptop/phone screen.

If that's the case then I expect them to also be cool with Shuri not doing anything significant as BP, T'Challa is still around and everyone refers to him as BP, and then a few years from now Shuri essentially commits suicide as she breaks under the pressure of her failure to protect her people and tells T'Challa to save them and take his place back on the throne then? I mean since we are going to use the "Because it happened on the comics" angle...

[MouserGrey]

(Sigh) Listen, until i hear actual news and confirmation of anything regarding BP in the MCU everything else is spam. God, I swear people annoy the hell out of me this fake concern of anything regarding some form of social issue. I don't even bother.

It's the ptsd developed from being a limg time T'Challa fan. Sure, it may be irrational, but there it is.

[chief12d]

They already showed her in action during the climax and in the Avengers movies, so it's not unlikely we'll see her in the field a bit more along with the lab work.

I think Okoye is too popular or recognizable to just relegate to the background. She's now the second most prominent female Wakandan within comics and media at this point. I can imagine them involving her in whatever redemption arc or continuation they do with W'Kabi (if they do anything at all) and giving her plenty of action scenes. Not that I don't expect Nakia to get her fair share either.

Yea it makes sense from a marketing and storytelling perspective to start giving Shuri more combat experience. She'll probably get her own Iron Panther suit and get training from T'Challa while still being the quippy lab rat we know and love.

Looking at stuff like the Black Panther cartoon and the various animated shorts I think Shuri is the most prominent female Wakandan in outside media. I think the Dora are iconic but they're ultimately secondary players to the royal family. Okoye is only getting pushed in the comics because the MCU pushed her but if the movies recalibrate things to make it so Shuri is more prominent I think they'll follow suit. They've pushed Okoye HARD and I don't see a reason to think they won't shift to Shuri. Especially if they end up making her and T'Challa BP simultaneously.

Okoye would still be prominent, but I think she'll be the Shuri of BP2 and 3, comedic relief and only 1 big action moment to really show off. Because I don't get the feeling they're gonna have T'Challa flanked by 3 warriors the entire film. And they're probably gonna add more characters, so it's a good possibility some characters won't get as much to do. If they're gonna push Shuri and build on the Nakia romance, Okoye's an easy character to siphon off some screentime from.

[4sake Baned]

Lord no. It makes ZERO sense to resurrect someone else other than T'Challa if he were to be killed off. The fact people are doing backflips to rationalise everything other than to recast makes me despair. Either give us a new T'Challa or don't even bother with making another BP film.

My theory isn’t that KM will be resurrected I’m saying MBJ get recast as T’Challa/BP..

[Blind Wedjat]

I definitely think Okoye gets pushed to the background though. Nakia's the love interest and the actress is bigger while Shuri's the heir until T'Challa gets married and has a kid. Okoye isn't quite as important. She's just a badass warrior and those are a dime a dozen in T'Challa's supporting cast. I'd argue she's the least essential side character in the franchise, especially since T'Challa has never really needed bodyguards anyway.

Plus if they plan on expanding the BP world with new characters like Vibraxas and Kaspar Cole, Okoye is the easiest character to shave screentime away from.

Before anything happened with Chadwick Boseman my ideas were have T'Challa, Nakia and Shuri be the 'international' team with Nakia filling the Bond girl archetype and Shuri being the Q/Benji of the team. Which makes sense since the last film made Nakia in charge of the outreach programs and Shuri in charge of the science and information exchange. T'Challa does his world leader conferences and interviews, Shuri hosts a tech expo, and Nakia works with NGOs dedicated to different social causes all by day. By night, all three of them go do some international spy or hero stuff. Then Ramonda, Okoye and M'Baku are the 'home' team, with Ramonda handling national political matters when T'Challa isn't around, Okoye providing security and M'Baku acting as a liaison for his people. I think that's a good way of giving all of them defined roles and ensuring T'Challa has the important bases covered.

[Blind Wedjat]

My theory isn’t that KM will be resurrected I’m saying MBJ get recast as T’Challa/BP..

I don't think MBJ would want to do that at all.

[Chesterfield]

Hmm....Killmonger became BP in the comics too....

Kraven became spider-man for a week or 2 in Kraven's last hunt but I ain't seeing anyone calling for Kraven to become spider-man and incidentally enough, that storyline is easily in the top 3 within the spider-man mythology.

#DoNotKillTchalla

[Chesterfield]

My theory isn’t that KM will be resurrected I’m saying MBJ get recast as T’Challa/BP..

To quote my boy Not3s, "You better sit back down watchu mean".

[chief12d]

Before anything happened with Chadwick Boseman my ideas were have T'Challa, Nakia and Shuri be the 'international' team with Nakia filling the Bond girl archetype and Shuri being the Q/Benji of the team. Which makes sense since the last film made Nakia in charge of the outreach programs and Shuri in charge of the science and information exchange. T'Challa does his world leader conferences and interviews, Shuri hosts a tech expo, and Nakia works with NGOs dedicated to different social causes all by day. By night, all three of them go do some international spy or hero stuff. Then Ramonda, Okoye and M'Baku are the 'home' team, with Ramonda handling national political matters when T'Challa isn't around, Okoye providing security and M'Baku acting as a liaison for his people. I think that's a good way of giving all of them defined roles and ensuring T'Challa has the important bases covered.

I definitely think that's a possibility if T'Challa gets recasted. Shuri gets out in the field, Okoye shifts to domestic security, and Nakia gets a more prominent role. Makes sense and feels organic to how things have unfolded. Then BP secondary characters like White Tiger, Vibraxas, and QDJ fill out future subplots in roles similar to Ross and W'Kabi from the first film. It's a great way to arrange the films and frankly it's what the comics should be doing.

[Frontier]

Yea it makes sense from a marketing and storytelling perspective to start giving Shuri more combat experience. She'll probably get her own Iron Panther suit and get training from T'Challa while still being the quippy lab rat we know and love.

Looking at stuff like the Black Panther cartoon and the various animated shorts I think Shuri is the most prominent female Wakandan in outside media. I think the Dora are iconic but they're ultimately secondary players to the royal family. Okoye is only getting pushed in the comics because the MCU pushed her but if the movies recalibrate things to make it so Shuri is more prominent I think they'll follow suit. They've pushed Okoye HARD and I don't see a reason to think they won't shift to Shuri. Especially if they end up making her and T'Challa BP simultaneously.

Okoye would still be prominent, but I think she'll be the Shuri of BP2 and 3, comedic relief and only 1 big action moment to really show off. Because I don't get the feeling they're gonna have T'Challa flanked by 3 warriors the entire film. And they're probably gonna add more characters, so it's a good possibility some characters won't get as much to do. If they're gonna push Shuri and build on the Nakia romance, Okoye's an easy character to siphon off some screentime from.

It definitely makes sense to give her a reason to put on a costume again and wield those panther gauntlets or some kind of weapon upgrade. And, yeah, I assume they'll give her her own variant of the Panther suit to sell toys and because it's marketable and happeend in the comics, without necessarily overtaking T'Challa.

That's why I said Okoye was the second most prominent. The Dora's are supporting but Okoye feels like part of the main, core, cast to me. I don't think focusing on Shuri or other characters necessarily requires diminishing Okoye, she has a role in the franchise and she plays it well, so I imagine that to continue in future films and guest appearance.

[Blind Wedjat]

Kraven became spider-man for a week or 2 in Kraven's last hunt but I ain't seeing anyone calling for Kraven to become spider-man and incidentally enough, that storyline is easily in the top 3 within the spider-man mythology.

#DoNotKillTchalla

Eh that's not really a good comparison. Shuri is T'Challa's sister not his enemy. Stuff like Kraven being Spider-Man doesn't last (like Octavius being Spidey too). Shuri's path to BP was about stepping up to the plate when she was needed and learning a humbling lesson. That's a far positive story. She's far more comparable to someone like Miles Morales, Dick Grayson or Bucky Barnes.

[Dboi654]

Kraven became spider-man for a week or 2 in Kraven's last hunt but I ain't seeing anyone calling for Kraven to become spider-man and incidentally enough, that storyline is easily in the top 3 within the spider-man mythology.

#DoNotKillTchalla

Or Rhodey becoming Iron Man