Chadwick Boseman Can’t Be Replaced And Won’t Be In Black Panther 2! Other Highlights From Disney’s Huge Investor Event!

TheRoot.com, By Tonya Renee Stidhum, Posted December 24th 2020

The wonderful world of Disney was full of wealthy investors, but it was also an exciting time for potential consumers and fans of Disney franchises. Hosted by Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company and Bob Iger, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board, The Walt Disney Company Investor Day was pretty much like sprinkling an Apple Event with Tinkerbell’s pixie dust. “This incredible slate of new original content reflects our continuing commitment to harness the resources and immense creativity across our company to bring audiences extraordinary entertainment experiences unlike anything else in the market,” Iger said in a statement via press release. “We’re proud that the unparalleled quality of our storytelling from our iconic brands remains evident across all distribution platforms, from movie theaters to our direct-to-consumer services.”

But, let’s skip all of that boring exec talk and get into this upcoming Black-ass content that me and you, your mama, and your cousin, too were all geeking out over. Seriously, Disney has the numbers to back it up—the company surpassed 137 million paid subscriptions across its direct-to-consumer services. Well damn. The vast slate of content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic will all live on Disney+ and…oh my God, it’s a lot.

Here are some highlights from the event:

• We have more official Black Panther 2 news! Having recently stated that T’Challa will not be digitized following Chadwick Boseman’s death, Disney further confirmed that “Honoring Chadwick Boseman’s legacy & portrayal of T’Challa, @MarvelStudios will not recast the character, but will explore the world of Wakanda & the rich characters introduced in the first film.” Black Panther 2 is scheduled to be released on July 8, 2022.
• Nia DaCosta (Candyman) is directing Captain Marvel 2! Sure, we already knew about it, but now she can actually publicly speak on it! Captain Marvel 2 is scheduled to be released on Nov. 11, 2022, and Teyonah Parris will be taking over the role of Monica Rambeau (Lashana Lynch portrayed the character in the first film). Parris also portrays Rambeau in the upcoming TV series Wandavision.
• Similar to DaCosta’s sentiment, one of the already-confirmed actors from the upcoming live-action reimagining of The Little Mermaid (with Halle Bailey as Ariel), Daveed Diggs said, “OK, now I can talk about it.” So, in my hyper-imaginative mind, I’m picturing a Disney rep stalking the cast/crew of their upcoming projects and hiding in the bushes with a silent dart until the exact date and time they can make a public statement about the project.
• Donald Glover will return as young Lando Calrissian in a “brand-new event series” for Disney+. Justin Simien (Dear White People) is currently in early stages of development for the project.
• Whoopi Goldberg teased it—and Disney is making it happen! Sister Act 3 is now in development and will premiere on Disney+. Goldberg will star and produce, plus Tyler Perry was announced as a producer on the upcoming project.
• Lucasfilm (in partnership with 20th Century Studios) is developing Tomi Adeyemi’s New York Times bestselling novel Children of Blood & Bone.
• Ahsoka, a new original series starring Rosario Dawson that is set within the Mandolorian timeline, is coming to Disney+.
• Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Beyond the Lights) and Wunmi Mosaku (Lovecraft Country) will co-star in the upcoming series Loki.
• One of the most exciting projects is Disney Animation’s “first-of-its-kind collaboration” with Pan-African entertainment company Kugali to create a science-fiction series called Iwájú, set to premiere on Disney+ in 2022.