Black Panther: Wakanda Forever originally featured more of its post-credits character
The character's role was reduced after Chadwick Boseman's death
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever co-writer Joe Robert Cole has revealed that one character who we meet in the post-credits scene initially had a bigger role in the movie, but the death of T'Challa actor Chadwick Boseman changed their involvement in the story.
Warning: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever post-credits scene spoilers ahead. Turn back now if you haven't seen the movie yet!
The movie's post-credits scene (or mid-credits, if we're being precise) introduces us – and Shuri (Letitia Wright) – to a new MCU character: Toussaint (Divine Love Konadu-Sun), the son of T'Challa and Nakia, who has been living a secret life with his mother in Haiti. However, an early version of the movie, conceived of before Boseman died in 2020, featured much more of Toussaint.
"Yeah, [in] a previous iteration, we really were more child-focused in the narrative, and his son was a part of that," Cole told Rolling Stone. "Obviously that changed, but we wanted him to exist in the film in some way. It was much more reduced. And there were conversations about, when do we reveal this information to the audience, and what’s the best version of it? Not only emotionally, but just narratively for the story and how it affects the characters in the story when they find out this information, and so forth. We played around a little bit, but he was never going to have a much larger presence after Chad passed."
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in theaters now. For much more on the latest Marvel movie, check out our spoiler-filled deep dives on:
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ending explained
- Who is the new Black Panther?
- All the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Easter eggs listed
- Everything we know about Black Panther 3
- When is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney Plus?
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on the Marvel timeline
- Everything we know about the Ironheart series
- All the new Marvel movies and shows coming soon
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I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.