Black Panther 3 is a matter of when, not if. But, before then, we’re going to be returning to Wakanda with upcoming Disney Plus animated series Eyes of Wakandaand the long-in-development spinoff show starring Danai Gurira’s Okoye.

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Ryan Coogler will have his hands busy with those projects for some time, though we’re certain that somewhere behind the scenes plans are busy being formulated for a full sequel centered around Letitia Wright’s Shuri.

Current rumors say Marvel Studios is running scared after The Marvels debacle and is hoping to fast-track the third installments in the Black Panther and Doctor Strange series, likely because the recent sequels were hits. A spanner is thrown into that moneymaking theory by a hint that Eternals 2 is also greenlit — we’ll believe that when we see it.

Regardless, the fan community is hoping for some Black Panther 3 confirmation soon… though along with it there are predictable demands for a plot twist we’re desperately hoping doesn’t happen.

Is the return of T’Challa in Black Panther 3 a good idea?

If Chadwick Boseman hadn’t tragically died in 2020 T’Challa would have been the lead character of Black Panther 2. With Marvel Studios quickly ruling out a CGI Boseman double. Coogler rewrote the entire movie and tackled the situation head-on. As such, the opening of the movie sees Shuri receiving news of her brother’s death, we get an extended funeral scene for T’Challa in the first act, and the rest of the movie effectively takes place in his shadow.

As the story ends Shuri has embraced her new role as Wakanda’s Black Panther and the mid-credits scene reveals that Nakia and T’Challa had a secret son who’s named after his dad. If the MCU keeps going long enough, this child may well grow up to be his father’s successor, meaning a T’Challa will once again be Black Panther.

But fans can’t wait that long. They want T’Challa back for Black Panther 3 and, to be fair, Marvel Studios has left the door wide open for that to happen via the Multiverse. As such, there are many calls for Boseman’s role to be recast with a new actor:

“Why can’t they find someone who might look like Chadwick and have him as the Black Panther.? At least the fans like us will appreciate seeing this amazing character ( King T’Challa) back again.”

We’ve even already seen an alternative T’Challa in What If…? season 1, so :

“Can’t we just have a T’Challa from a different universe take the role?”

Another argues:

“Black Panther’s the story of a man T’challa who is a King, scientist a prominent figure in the Black Community! Recast that damn role and give Black Children a hero where they can see themselves!!!”

While I miss T’Challa as much as everyone, I’m hoping they don’t bring him back anytime soon. Shuri has barely gotten comfortable in her new role, the arrival of a multiversal T’Challa variant would undermine the story of Wakanda Forever, and it still feels disrespectful to recast Boseman’s most iconic role.

One day another actor will play T’Challa, though whoever that is will be filling some incredibly big shoes and we don’t envy them one bit. Until then we’re eager to see where the Wakandan saga goes next and will be looking out for clues in Eyes of Wakanda and updates on the Okoye spinoff.