What the fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe want for the next Black Panther Movie.

Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman recently lost his 4-year battle with colon cancer. The day after his tragic death a tweet was released which confirmed his passing and informed the world of his battle with the illness. According to this tweet, the star was diagnosed in 2016 and had been undergoing treatment for his cancer whilst continuing to work on some of his most highly rated films, according to Rotten Tomatoes, such as “Black Panther” (his first starring role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and “Avengers: Endgame”.

As the news of his passing came me and many other fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe had questions about what would be next for the MCU, how they would move forward without Boseman. A sequel to ‘Black Panther’ was due to begin production in March 2021. Although Disney has not yet released details of a plan for the sequel a petition published on change.org stated that “Shuri should take the Black Panther mantel. Chadwick Boseman cannot be replaced by another” (Shuri is the sister of T’Challa, portrayed on screen by Letitia Wright). Over 1,500 people signed the web petition, agreeing with the statement.

I carried out a questionnaire of my own, with the question ‘What would you like to see next in the Black Panther series?’ there were three choices and an option to enter their own opinion on the matter. Exactly 80% of the people who answered the survey felt that Shuri should take over as leader of Wakanda, four of the twenty-five people wanted no sequel and one a re-cast of T’Challa. When inquired why they did not want a sequel one person said “I love Shuri and I’m up for them coming back in the MCU but I wouldn’t want a Black Panther 2 without Chadwick, it’s not the same”. Another answer agreed with her. The overwhelming idea of the group is that Shuri is wanted as the leader of Wakanda, if not at least somewhere in the MCU.

One of the people who answered the survey, Hannah Akende,  when asked what kind of impact Chadwick had on her in his portrayal of T’Challa, told me: “Chadwick Boseman was an inspiration to many young black children who had not gotten the representation they needed in the films they watch. As well as that he seemed to be such a kind person – doing so much for charity and helping others even whilst fighting a terminal illness. His memory will be with me for the rest of my life.”. This is just one example of the immense impact he had on young people around the world, to try and replace it would not be, in my opinion, the right thing to do.

For now, though, I along with many fans worldwide will be eagerly awaiting news of who is next to wear the legendary Black Panther armour.