Marvel Studios Casting Director Sarah Finn never misses and Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther remains one of her greatest finds.
The actor sadly passed away in 2020 after battling cancer and Marvel Studios ultimately decided against recasting the role. Instead, the hero died off-screen in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and his younger sister, Shuri, inherited the mantle.
Boseman played the hero in Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame; following in his footsteps won't be easy and it appears at least one actor was wary of attempting to do so after being offered the role
In Jeff Sneider's full report, we learn that Marvel Studios approached at least one Hollywood star last year to take over as T'Challa, only to be turned down. It also doesn't sound like this new version - widely believed to be an aged-up Toussaint, Black Panther and Nakia's son - is a lock for Avengers: Doomsday and/or Avengers: Secret Wars.
Here's an excerpt from Sneider's piece (via Screen Rant):
"With Marvel reshuffling the deck in advance of 'Avengers: Doomsday' and 'Avengers: Secret Wars,' and Robert Downey Jr. coming back not as Iron Man but as Doctor Doom, I’m told that the door is firmly open for T’Challa to be recast via the magic of the multiverse."
"I heard that an actor was actually offered the role this past fall, a couple of months after Downey’s big reveal at Comic-Con, but they turned it down, not wanting to jeopardize their career momentum by stepping into Boseman’s gigantic shoes, which may be too big to fill, even for Hollywood’s most talented Black actors."
"Now, it’s unclear whether T’Challa will appear in 'Avengers: Doomsday,' or 'Avengers: Secret Wars,' but I think it’s fair to assume that whoever is cast as the character will reprise the role in 'Black Panther 3,' which has been discussed by everyone from Ryan Coogler to Denzel Washington."
With Black Panther 3 set to be released post-Avengers: Secret Wars, it makes sense for that to be where we meet this new T'Challa. The MCU is expected to be softly rebooted with several roles recast, and Black Panther being among them makes sense.
Letitia Wright received praise for her work in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever but some controversial social media activity came close to derailing the sequel at one stage.
For what it's worth, scooper @MyTimeToShineH has said, "It's not a recast it's an older version of his son from Black Panther Wakanda Forever." We'll see what happens.