Black Panther stars Angela Bassett (Queen Ramonda) and Danai Gurira (Okoye) suited-up and stepped out on the catwalk to pay tribute to their characters during Vogue World: Hollywood, and they were joined by One Battle After Another star Teyana Taylor, who also donned a Dora Milaje costume for the event.
Photos and videos from the event are now doing the rounds online (see below), but one backstage shot, in particular, has caught the attention of Marvel fans.
Damson Idris was photographed walking hand-in-hand with Bassett, reigniting speculation that he may be set to play a new take on T'Challa in the MCU.
There were a lot of actors at this event, so it's obviously a bit of a stretch to assume that, just because Idris was spotted chatting with Bassett, that they were discussing anything Black Panther-related. Still, it's worth noting that Idris did recently indicate that he has had discussions about the role.
The report that Marvel Studios' may be searching for an actor to take over from the late Chadwick Boseman as a new take on T'Challa in the MCU led to several names being churned out by the rumor mill, including Idris. The up-and-coming British Snowfall star and F1: The Movie star was said to be one of the actors who passed on the opportunity to play T'Challa, and was asked about the rumor on social media shortly after.
Idris jokingly responded (though not everyone picked up on the sarcasm) that he also "turned down 007, A co-lead film with Daniel Day Lewis and an Eddie Murphy biopic."
However, it seems there may have been at least some truth to the rumor.
During a recent appearance on Today (via EW), Idris was asked to participate in a game in which he could only give a "yes" or "no" answer to a series of questions.
“There’s some speculation out there in the universe that you could be cast as the next Black Panther,” said co-anchor Craig Melvin. “Have you had any conversations about that? Yes or no?”
Idris let out a groan, before responding: “Yes-no!”
Though the actor declined to elaborate, he didn't hesitate with a "yes" when asked if he'd agree to play the part if given the opportunity.
Although the initial rumor suggested that Kevin Feige and co. were searching for a new actor to play a variant of the same character Boseman portrayed, it seems more likely that the studio is actually in the process of casting an actor for the role of the original T'Challa's son (Toussaint, aka Prince T'Challa), who was introduced at the end of Wakanda Forever.
Whoever ends up accepting the role, the new T'Challa is expected to debut in one of the upcoming Avengers movies before going on to play a bigger part in Black Panther 3.
During a 2022 interview with the New York Times, director Ryan Coogler admitted that he'd be glad to stay on this franchise for "as long as folks will have me."
"I feel blessed that I have the opportunity to work on these movies, bro. When I got asked to do the first one, it was like a moving train. I thank God every day that I was able to jump on it and meet these people, these actors, and to meet Chadwick during some of the last years of his life. I’ll do it as long as folks will have me. But I think it’s bigger than just me or Joe. Between the first and second movie, we made $2 billion at the box office, which is what matters the most to corporations. So I hope that it continues, man. I hope people are still making movies about Wakanda long after we’re gone."