As #RecastTChalla began to trend on Twitter this week, it must have been hard for Marvel to know where to turn.
For those who have no idea what this hashtag means, T’Challa is the king of Wakanda, a fictional world in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Wakanda is home to much of the world’s resources of the equally fictional vibranium – an extremely powerful mineral, and T’Challa is better known as Black Panther, a major character in the pantheon of powerful superheroes that Marvel has brought to cinema screens in the past few years, and one who has a habit of helping to save the world frequently in the ever growing MCU.
When Black Panther was released in cinemas in 2018, it looked like Marvel, and its owner Disney, had cracked the “diversity in Hollywood” code. Here was a film, with a mostly black cast, and an undeniably black lead in Chadwick Boseman playing T’Challa/Black Panther, the ruler of Wakanda, with a side job of slaying supervillains.
The film was nominated for Oscars and, although it was never going to win any of the big ones because superhero films simply don’t, fans of comic books and diversity alike were excited by the possibility that, technically, it could.
This was, of course, in the wake of the #OscarsSowhite campaign, but the Academy Awards of 2018 wasn’t in terms of diversity of its voters where it is now, so Black Panther didn’t win. The Shape of Water did.
Black Panther was ultimately still a superhero film, and it may not have won Best Picture, but it did prove to Hollywood that it could make money from films that aren’t about white men. It came out in the same year as Crazy Rich Asians, which showed that Asians had box office draw, too. A year before, Wonder Woman had smashed it at the box office and showed that a female superhero film can also sell tickets, possibly to Disney’s equal delight and dismay as their own female superhero, Captain Marvel, wouldn’t hit screens until 2019. Hollywood was clearly changing, however.
Unfortunately, Boseman died from colon cancer in August 2020, leaving Disney in something of a quandary.
Having recently presented the world with its first blockbuster black superhero, Disney had a big decision to make, and Marvel boss Kevin Feige seemed to make it in December 2020, when he stated that rather than recasting T’Challa he would “honour the legacy that Chad helped us build through his portrayal of the king of Wakanda. We want to continue to explore the world and all the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film."
T’Challa would be retired, and we’d explore some of his friends. Many of whom, it should be noted, have already been killed in other MCU films.
A year later, social media seems to have decided otherwise, as fans demand a return of Black Panther and #RecastTChalla refuses to leave Twitter’s festive trends.
One Twitter user wrote that Boseman himself fought through cancer to play the role, and claims his own family would rather see Black Panther recast than retired.
Another, meanwhile, felt that Boseman’s time as Black Panther should be the beginning of a new era rather than the end of one.
Reviewer Eman had an interesting take and said we were all denying our kids their favourite character in order to deal with our own grief with T’Challa’s death. "Never lose sight of why superheroes were created. They were mainly for kids. Think about how selfish it sounds to suggest we wait 10 years to give them back their fictional hero because we adults can't emotionally deal," Eman wrote.
That’s certainly an interesting point, but one could argue that dead or otherwise, the likes of Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Daniel Craig would confirm that a character can continue with just as much love, even if the actor changes.
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Brief scores
Toss India, chose to bat
India 281-7 in 50 ov (Pandya 83, Dhoni 79; Coulter-Nile 3-44)
Australia 137-9 in 21 ov (Maxwell 39, Warner 25; Chahal 3-30)
India won by 26 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method
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The Greatest Royal Rumble card
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Team Angel Wolf Beach Blast takes place every Wednesday between 4:30pm and 5:30pm
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
MATCH INFO
BRIGHTON 0
MANCHESTER UNITED 3
McTominay 44'
Mata 73'
Pogba 80'
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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All the Money in the World
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Charlie Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer
Four stars
More from Armen Sarkissian
Tour de France Stage 16:
165km run from Le Puy-en-Velay to Romans-sur-Isère
'Of Love & War'
Lynsey Addario, Penguin Press
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
