Wakanda Forever producer and Marvel executive Nate Moore’s mind had been racing following the passing of Chadwick Boseman about whether to move forward with the sequel, Deadline reports.
A script had been written, pre-production already in place, then Boseman’s sudden death on Aug. 28, 2020 at the age of 43 from colon cancer.
Famously, Moore would say: “Should we even make this movie?”
He also stated: “How to narratively address his absence in a way that felt honest,” was a huge challenge.
Moore would take time to grieve along with those who were also deeply touched by the work of Boseman, but Moore would know it was time to do a service not only to Chadwick, but to fans of the film.
Moore said: “It was the only way that felt authentic: We knew we had a reaction to the passing, but clearly the world did. It felt like the most genuine thing to do as storytellers…to use that that thing as fuel. The notion of recasting never crossed my mind.”
Wakanda Forever then morphed into a movie about a young woman through grief who finds her sense of power and purpose in the world, that being T’Challa’s sister Shuri played by Letitia Wright.
Moore said: “She’s going through this right of passage, going through the stages of grief,” explains Moore, “and figuring out who she is and whether or not grief will consume her or if she’ll come out the other side and become a hero…She had to go through the fire and figure out who she was.”
Moore also talked about X-Men making a huge comeback: “There’s no secret the X-Men are coming home, if you talk Storm and Bishop, they’re two of the great characters in that franchise,” says Moore who emphasizes, “we’re early, early days” on that reboot.
Harry Styles fans can also rejoice as it seems Harry will be back in the Marvel Universe as Moore said: “We didn’t cast Harry for a tag. (There’s) more stories to be told with that character. He has an interesting connection with Thanos; they’re half-brothers and share the same father. He’s a complicated character, but a really fun character.”
