Ryan Coogler, the director of "Black Panther," has revealed details about the original script for the sequel, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," which had to be drastically reworked following the death of Chadwick Boseman in 2020. Boseman, who played the iconic T'Challa, passed away at the age of 43 after a private battle with colon cancer.

Coogler shared that he had completed a 180-page draft of the script and was eager for Boseman to read it, but tragically, the actor was "too sick" to do so. "Honestly, what happened was, I finished it and I hit him up to read it," Coogler explained on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast. "He was too sick to read it, bro. That was kind of how that timing was. He was at a place where it wasn't gonna happen".

The original concept for "Black Panther 2" centered around T'Challa and his son. The film was to explore the relationship between T'Challa and his eight-year-old son, who was born in the five years T'Challa was blinked away. A key element of the script was a Wakandan tradition called the "Ritual of Eight," where a prince at the age of eight must spend eight days in the bush with his father, Coogler explained. During this ritual, the prince could ask his father any question, and the father was obligated to answer. The film was to have T'Challa facing off against Namor while simultaneously trying to complete the ritual with his son.

Coogler described the original script as "insane" and expressed his belief that "Chad was going to kill it". He felt he had only scratched the surface of Boseman's talent in the first "Black Panther" film and was excited to explore the character further. However, Boseman's untimely death forced Coogler to completely reimagine the sequel.

The director admitted that Boseman's passing had a profound impact on him. "It damaged me, bro. Probably irreparably, to be honest with you," Coogler said. He also revealed that Boseman had protected him during the filming of the first "Black Panther" movie when Coogler feared he would be fired.

Marvel ultimately decided not to recast the role of T'Challa, and the sequel, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," focused on the other characters in Wakanda, particularly the women. The film addressed the loss of T'Challa and explored themes of grief and legacy. Despite the changes, elements of Coogler's original vision remained, including the introduction of Toussaint, T'Challa's son, in a post-credit scene. Coogler is set to return to direct "Black Panther 3".