One of the more heartbreaking aspects of Ryan Coogler and Marvel‘s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was the passing of star Chadwick Boseman, who had been secretly battling colon cancer, and then folks moving forward with that sequel during their grieving process. Coogler is now detailing an early version of the sequel’s script that not only featured T’Challa and Namor coming into conflict, but also featured the hero’s son (revealed at the end of the movie) and the “Ritual of 8.”
Speaking with Josh Horowitz of “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Coogler said his early “180-page draft” would have seen T’Challa and his 8-year-old son Prince Toussaint (aka, T’Challa II) with Nakia (played by Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o) bonding together on the Ritual of 8, their adventure leading to the two facing off with Namor (played by Tenoch Huerta), the film’s villain.
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“The big thing with the script was a thing called the Ritual of 8, where a prince is 8 years old, he must spend 8 days in the bush with his father,” Coogler told Horowitz. “The rule is for those 8 days, the prince can ask the father any question, and the father must answer. In the course of those 8 days, Namor launches an attack…he had to deal with someone who’s insanely dangerous, but because of this ritual, his son had to be joined at his hip the whole time, or else they’d violate this ritual that had never been broken. It was insane. Chadwick was going to kill it, but life goes as it goes,” Coogler said of his early draft that sadly, Boseman was “too sick” to read, given his health at the time.
It’s some of the first insight about that previous version of the sequel that would have not only had T’Challa in the protagonist spot, but would have introduced Prince Toussaint as a supporting character rather than keeping him a secret from Shuri until a post-credit scene.
Ultimately, Letitia Wright‘s Shuri stepped into the role of protector of Wakanda in “Black Panther 2” with M’Baku (Winston Duke) taking on the royal duties from her mother Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett, earning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance) after her character’s death at the hands of Namor.
What happens in “Black Panther 3” remains unclear, although Denzel Washington leaked his potential involvement, despite his role not being made official (hard to imagine Washington won’t ultimately be in it). We’re still being kept in the dark about what Marvel/Coogler’s big plan will be for Prince Toussaint in “Black Panther 3” and those “Avengers” sequels from The Russo Brothers. And if they’ll try to do a little time jump or multiverse hijinks to give fans a sort of T’Challa recasting with an older actor taking on the T’Challa II role (Damson Idris of “F1: The Movie” has been rumored as a possible contender for a “recast,” although unconfirmed).
This comes after Coogler revealed his attempt to get Kraven the Hunter in the original “Black Panther” through Marvel Studios, who were refused access by film rights holders Sony Pictures (as Kraven is part of the “Spider-Man” rights and would get his own solo movie starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson).
That full exchange between Coolger and Horowitz on that recent episode of “Happy Sad Confused” can be viewed below.
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