The basic, professed definition of feminism that I've heard, that it simply means equality of the sexes, that definition I have no problem with, which would make me, I suppose a feminist. However, in practice, feminism has been something much different, and then black feminism has too often been about black male bashing and the 'ascension' of black females at the expense of black males and I would also argue the whole black community.
I looked at the video and while I admire the man's passion, I take some issues with his reasoning. When it comes to Thor, he's already been pushed to the side. He's not even the King of Asgard anymore (Valkyrie is) and it appears Jane will be the new Thor in Love & Thunder, which also follows the comics. I've heard that Hemsworth is not necessarily pleased by that and he still seems to be fighting to stay in the MCU and to stay relevant, but they've been slowly going at his character, perhaps starting with Ragnarok and definitely with fat Thor in Endgame. It's just that Hemsworth has good comic timing as Thor and was very game and so we all laughed along while his character was being diminished and set up to be given the heave ho.
As for Captain Marvel, they already have grown up Monica (Teyonah Parris), and the only thing right now that would prevent them from putting Monica over Carol if some unfortunate tragedy struck is Monica's (Parris's) skin color. But the idea that they wouldn't change Captain Marvel is one I don't believe. That film made a billion dollars, but IMO, the character didn't 'go over' like the MCU hoped, largely because Brie Larson appears to be a lightning rod on the internet, and she riles the alt-right, Men's Rights, crowd in ways that perhaps T'Challa triggers some feminists.
T'Challa is an important character in the comics and the MCU, however, and this is heresy here, he's not as important as Iron Man in reality. And that's largely because of skin color. Iron Man has had bigger, more well-known stories, he's been integrated and integral to a lot more of the major storylines throughout Marvel's history than T'Challa, and within the MCU, he was the heart of it. The runaway success of the first Iron Man film sold the idea of the MCU to millions. We don't get Coogler's Black Panther without Favreau's Iron Man.
I think sometimes as fans, black fans, and black fans of T'Challa, our dreams, our wishes override the reality. For me, I try to keep in mind that T'challa belongs to them (Marvel, Disney) and not to us. He and his world might come close to a being a black (power) fantasy but he is a white creation and is or can be guided by white minds and hands. And they'll do with the character-within the comics or the films-what they wish. If they think recasting will get them the most money, they'll do that. If they go with Shuri, Okoye, or Nakia as the new Panther because they think that will get them more money, they'll do that. I think both are valid options. However, I think circumstances have unfortunately set up Shuri, or another successor, taking the reins more organically than shoving T'Challa aside after the second or third movie, or doing something else to diminish or sideline him in his own movie. As I said before, those things can still happen even with a recast.
I will say this, Thor has been a tricky one
His first two movies weren't that great and the 3rd one worked because it was basically a buddy cop movie, anytime it had something serious or dark happened it was followed by comedy, so I can see how he might be getting phased out because his movie's were just not taking. Now if hos first movie did BP numbers and the sequels continued to do well I would say the push would be very odd, but still somewhat understable if his story was told. I just see them having issues telling his solo. But regardless he has been around for 10 years and all of his solos and every avengers movie.
T'Challa hasn't. Another issue that people are forgetting when it comes to replacing T'Challa with Shuri is explained here from. The CBR:
I'll say this about recasting T'Challa in the MCU...I personally think Disney SHOULD recast T'Challa. Because so far, he already "died" in his solo movie, then was "resurrected" later in the movie and reclaimed his kingdom, THEN died FOR REAL when he got snapped by Thanos in Infinity War, then got resurrected FOR REAL when he came back through the portal in End Game, thus regaining his kingdom. It would look extremely foolish for Disney to now kill the character off YET AGAIN and thereby have him lose his kingdom YET AGAIN. How many times are they going to kill this black man?
Also, if Disney does not recast T'Challa, then they would be setting up a dangerous precedence, because God forbid, what if other actors and actresses portraying major characters in the MCU pass away? Are they not going to recast those characters and kill those characters off as well, especially if those characters' story arcs aren't complete? If they do, it would look odd. If they don't recast T'Challa, but recast those other major characters, it would also look odd.
In addition, T'Challa himself in the MCU was/is a major inspiration to a lot of people because of the Black Panther movie, and I don't feel as though you permanently kill off a character like that, knowing how important he is to a lot of people, especially kids.
I also think it's odd that some people on certain sites can't fathom having T'Challa be portrayed by anyone other than Chadwick Boseman. It's definitely sad that Chadwick has transitioned, but to act as though no other black man can ever portray T'Challa because that actor might not be as good at it as Chadwick was, is baffling to me. Because now we're talking about denying other black actors the opportunity to portray T'Challa, who is such an iconic character.
That's almost like saying, "Well, I loved the way this particular writer wrote Black Panther in his solo series, but since the writer passed away, I really can't see anyone else writing T'Challa as well as HE did, therefore, I don't think anyone else should write T'Challa in his own solo book, because the writing of T'Challa might not be as good. So let's replace T'Challa in his own book with Shuri, or another character!"
Ontop of how phasing him out for Shuri will likely turn into her literally taking over his franchise as since Letitia is young she could play Shuri for 10 years and havo and Shuri as BP on 3 solos plus Avengers movie's means average people will see her as the BP and if a reboot ever happened (there's no guarantee that it will happen 10 years is a long time and comic book movies could fade away in thst time) it would be met with people saying Shuri is the BP and it would be weird for T'Challa to take over since it's her franchise and chastising Marvel for getting rid of the first premier Black Female hero.
Plus disney is a business and so everything going forward would be geared towards Shuri. Cartoons games toys etc etc. All the while T'Challa is simply a footnote on her journey. That is a very realistic situation and one that should not happen as T'Challa shouldn't be kicked out of his own franchise because Chadwick passed. I know that Chad wouldn't want T'Challa to die with him And he would want the character to outlive him. So let T'Challa continue his career and his story arc to completion
When it comes to Thor you make some good points, though I think him being pushed to the side, just as he finally hit paydirt with Ragnarok and also in his interactions with the Guardians and also his memorable turn in Endgame, was something they were already cooking up as part of pushing the social agenda they had for the MCU, even the audience seems to be pretty okay with Hemsworth still as Thor. Perhaps Thor was the first to go because he had the weakest trilogy of films, and there’s not really much of a major comic book precedent female legacy character for Captain America like there has been for Thor, Iron Man (Rescue, Ironheart), and even T’Challa. It is a good point that Thor has had three movies and a decade in the MCU where T’Challa hasn’t had that long, so it would make more sense to put the Thunder God to pasture.
You and Moneyspider also make good points about what a Shuri-led BP franchise could mean for the future of T’Challa. To be honest, it’s something I hadn’t thought about. I can see how if Shuri as BP does catch on it could mean a marginalization if not erasure of T’Challa from the comics, cartoons, video games, and toy aisles as Disney puts its marketing behind pushing Shuri. That could also set up a scenario where Shuri, for the mass audience, becomes ‘the’ Black Panther, like how some fans were upset when Ryan Reynolds was cast as Green Lantern, because the only Green Lantern they knew was John Stewart, courtesy of the Justice League cartoon. Even back in the day, I thought Stewart was the second Green Lantern (based on when I first encountered him in the comics, but later learned he was third after Guy Gardner). Shuri taking over doesn’t necessarily have to mean T’Challa is sidelined especially if a Shuri-BP franchise acknowledges T’Challa’s passing and a large part of MCU Shuri’s story is about trying to leave up to T’Challa’s example. Statues, flashbacks, ancestral plain visits, etc. can be used to keep the spirit of T’Challa alive even if he’s not physically in the franchise anymore. I don’t want T’Challa erased, and he doesn’t necessarily have to be, even if he isn’t in the film, if handled right and with care, and I think Coogler can do that. I got to say though that this is the Black Panther franchise, and while T’Challa is the best known Black Panther, it has been long established-in comics-and has been in the MCU as well-that he wasn’t the only Black Panther. He presumably succeeded T’Chaka (though there might have been another MCU Panther before T’Challa for all we know). Succession is part of the BP mythos more than a lot of other comic book characters. When I think about say Aquaman, that superhero name belongs to Arthur, while the throne of Atlantis is up for succession, whereas with Black Panther, the title and the identity go to a successor.
If Shuri takes over and say gets two or three films, by that point the comic book movie boom finally might be over. Even if that’s the case, that doesn’t take away the films we’ve already gotten with T’Challa nor does it erase his decades of comic adventures. And with these films making so much money, even if the boom ends, I can’t see them ever completely going away in movies, television, cartoons, video games, etc; every now and then somebody even makes a Western.
I thought the comic book writer comparison was interesting, though I don’t really think it applies. For one though, there are some fans who are very attached to certain writers and artists, and when it comes to novels I will read griping about how Brian Herbert’s Dune novels don’t compare to his father’s works, though I haven’t seen anyone say that Brian shouldn’t be writing them. And I can’t say that some of the novels like the Bond or Jason Bourne series that go on after their creators’ deaths are as prized as the original works. That being said, most readers of comics know how fluid the business is and how writers and artists are changing all the time, and how there are new takes on characters. That’s different than an actor playing a role to great acclaim who suddenly dies in the prime of his life and then having someone step in. Usually when there’s a new actor, that’s when there is a reboot. Only the Joel Schumacher Batman films-from Kilmer to Clooney-is one major midstream change I can think of-and we see how that turned out. Batman & Robin wasn’t Clooney’s fault solely but he didn’t bring much to the role either. I also think about how none of The Crow recastings ever took, though I don't think all of them were supposed to be Draven, which argues for and against recasting but also having a successor character, but I digress.
Boseman, like Wesley Snipes almost a generation before, had defined what for many people was an obscure character and that’s different than the umpteenth actor playing Batman or Superman, and whether that’s fair or not, that’s how it is. Just having someone else step in-while I would still go see it-I think is missing a chance to acknowledge what Boseman brought to the role, the tragedy of life, the suddenness of death, and the idea of black lives mattering in a way that is more profound than just continuing on as if nothing has happened, in the real world. One of the best things for me about the first Black Panther film was when it did tap into the real world, that gave it a resonance that other MCU or comic book films lacked. I would rather they keep going that way than back off. I certainly want to see strong black male characters, strong black male lead characters, but I also want to see strong black female characters and strong black female lead characters as well, and fate has cruelly set up the Black Panther franchise to provide for both.
