With the upcoming release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, there's a chance a variation T'Challa may be teased, and there's already a suitable actor for the part. The Black Panther made his screen debut in Captain America: Civil War in 2016, and was played by late actor Chadwick Boseman. Marvel Studios has stated that the role of T'Challa will not be recast following his death in August 2020.
Marvel Studios Vice President Nate Moore was asked about the choice not to recast T'Challa after a viral petition pushed the studio to do so. "You will not see T'Challa in the MCU 616 universe," Moore added. The core Marvel comic book universe is usually referred to as the 616 universe. Moore was most likely referring to the MCU's 199999 realm. Nonetheless, his precise multiverse detail hinted at the possibility of a variation T'Challa. With Loki and the animated What If...? series, the MCU introduced audiences to the concept of variations. T'Challa variations, notably Star-Lord T'Challa, were featured in the latter. One of those variations could be introduced in Black Panther 2.
Due to Covid, Marvel Studios' Phase 4 films have had many production delays and other complications. Regardless, if T'Challa is recast, whether in Black Panther 2 or later, Y'lan Noel would make an excellent T'Challa variation. Despite being a relatively newcomer to Hollywood, the actor has received acclaim for his role as Daniel King on HBO's smash series Insecure. Furthermore, in The First Purge, Noel demonstrated his ability to handle action situations. When asked if he would be interested in performing the part, Noel replied, "It happened in the blink of an eye! But the gods have the final say." (Image courtesy of The Movie Blog) Some may be startled to learn this, believing that no other actor would be interested in such a role.
T'Challa is a significant figure, therefore it's obvious that Noel (or any other actor) would be ecstatic to play him. Marvel Studios has a history of casting relatively unknown performers in big, leading roles. For example, Tom Holland's career and celebrity skyrocketed once he was cast as Spider-Man. Chris Pratt as Star-Lord and Chris Hemsworth as Thor are examples of this. Leading roles in the MCU have a proven track record for actors, and Y'lan Noel has a good chance of continuing that trend.
Noel would make a fantastic T'Challa variation, especially if surrounded by Marvel Studios' creative minds and Ryan Coogler's gifted storytelling. The actor from Insecure might play a live-action version of Star-Lord T'Challa from What If...? or an other version of T'Challa unknown to the public. This distinction could be appealing to moviegoers since it avoids direct parallels to his predecessor, Chadwick Boseman.
