Black Panther made a cameo alongside other Marvel heroes in ‘X-Men ’97’ Season 1 finale, but the person under the mask turned out to be T’Chaka instead of T’Challa. Beau DeMayo, who previously cited his NDA when asked about the change, recently explained the real reason behind it.
“I don’t know why Marvel had certain directors trying to spin and lie about this but we produced [‘X-Men ’97’] Season 1 in early 2021,” he wrote on X. “The loss of Boseman weighed heavily on the studio, as well as on me as a black man. Felt too soon to do [T’Challa]. Put humanity before continuity.”
“As I said, at the time, it didn’t feel right. Just a matter of respect. If it were today, I think the choice would may be different. Either way, trying to spin it as something other than what it was makes no sense to me.”
DeMayo later reached out to ComicBook and pointed out an interview on the matter as reference. Apparently, as opposed to the writer’s statement, supervising director Jake Castorena explained T’Challa’s absence by bringing up the Multiverse during an early 2024 appearance on the ‘Phase Zero’ podcast.
“Some of the Black Panther of it all are definitely closed doors conversations that I wasn’t privy to. That was definitely in Beau and the executives’ realm. But for us, there’s always multiple timelines right there,” Castorena noted.
He explained, “There’s always a one off. ‘This is exactly how I like it, except for that one thing.’ OK, cool. But, it’s still the thing. So, who’s to say what timeline is the right timeline, the proper timeline? I mean, y’all aren’t ready for how we’re gonna **** you up in Season 2. At the end, we tease it at the end of [episode] 10. We’re gonna have to elaborate on that…”
Marvel cut ties with DeMayo shortly before ‘X-Men ’97’ Season 1’s release. The studio later pointed to alleged misconduct on set as the reason though the showrunner denied these accusations, claiming the studio was trying to keep him quiet about his firing.
I don’t know why Marvel had certain directors trying to spin and lie about this but we produced #xmen97 Season 1 in early 2021. The loss of Boseman weighed heavily on the studio, as well as on me as a black man. Felt too soon to do #T’Challa. Put humanity before continuity.
— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) September 21, 2024
As I said, at the time, it didn’t feel right. Just a matter of respect. If it were today, I think the choice would may be different. Either way, trying to spin it as something other than what it was makes no sense to me.
— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) September 21, 2024
