The head of Marvel Studios is finally speaking out about the choice not to recast the role of T’Challa in the Black Panther series. In an interview with British film magazine Empire, Kevin Feige said it simply “felt like it was much too soon to recast” star Chadwick Boseman. The movie exec, 49, produced the first film along with the upcoming sequel Wakanda Forever. He says he worked closely with director Ryan Coogler on the follow-up. “The conversations were entirely about, yes, ‘What do we do next?’” Feige said. “And how could the legacy of Chadwick—and what he had done to help Wakanda and the Black Panther become these incredible, aspirational, iconic ideas—continue? That’s what it was all about.” A small but vociferous movement to #RecastTChalla sprang up shortly after Boseman’s death from colon cancer in August 2020, with some fans arguing that recasting the role would be the best way to honor the impact of a character like T’Challa on young Black boys.