- Chadwick Boseman’s passing left the Black Panther franchise without a Black Panther.
- The role will not be recast - T’Challa is gone.
- Shuri, T’Challa’s sister, played by Letitia Wright, has -200 odds to become the new Black Panther.
LAS VEGAS - Chadwick Boseman’s untimely passing has left a void at the heart of the Black Panther franchise.
Boseman thrilled as T’Challa, king of the hidden nation of Wakanda, who donned the Black Panther costume to fight for justice in Black Panther, as well as other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
With the recent reveal of the title of the second Black Panther film being Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever, many have been wondering who the next Black Panther will be.
It has already been confirmed that Disney will not simply cast another actor to play T’Challa.
Black Panther 2, opening July 8, 2022, is being written & directed by Ryan Coogler. Honoring Chadwick Boseman’s legacy & portrayal of T’Challa, @MarvelStudios will not recast the character, but will explore the world of Wakanda & the rich characters introduced in the first film.
— Disney (@Disney) December 11, 2020
Still, it’s hard to have a Black Panther movie if there is no Black Panther, so the online sportsbooks have begun offering odds on who will take his place among the existing cast.
What Character Will Become The Black Panther
- Shuri -200
- Nakia +175
- Okoye +350
- Erik Killmonger +500
- M’Baku (Great Gorilla) +600
- W’Kabi +700
- Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier) +1000
- Field +400
Right now, the outright favorite to become the next Black Panther is Shuri, T’Challa’s sister, who is a likely candidate in the context of the story.
Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, was a constant companion to T’Challa, focusing on the scientific aspect of fighting evildoers. However, there are several other intriguing candidates that could fit the bill.
Nakia was T’Challa’s love interest in the first Black Panther movie, played by Lupita Nyong’o.
At the end of Black Panther, she was overseeing Wakandan humanitarian aid, as the hidden nation revealed itself to the world. She has not been seen since, and did not appear in any other Marvel Cinematic Universe productions, while Shuri and Okoye were seen in Infinity War and Endgame. In addition, the character of Nakia in the comics - notably far different from the MCU Nakia - does end up becoming a villain named Malice.
Speaking of Okoye, she’s an intriguing candidate as well. The head of the Dora Milaje certainly has the combat chops to take up the Black Panther mantle. Her +350 odds leave her behind Shuri and Nakia, and some of that is surely that actress Danai Gurira excels as the version of Okoye currently on the screen.
After Okoye, the odds get a bit murky.
Killmonger, the ostensible villain of the Black Panther movie, has +500 odds to be the next Black Panther, despite being dead. M’Baku, the Great Gorilla, who allied himself with T’Challa during the events of Black Panther, could also take up the mantle.
Killmonger’s odds are intriguing as they would represent a Michael B. Jordan return to the MCU, something that would certainly be a coup for the MCU, inasmuch as anything can be a coup for the biggest franchise in the world.
Of course, the field has +400 odds - there are plenty of directions that this could go that would involve none of the above characters taking up the Black Panther mantle.
Entertainment betting fans can wager on this using online gambling sites, which offer entertainment betting odds as well.