Claims
Social media posts claim reigning MMA heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has been cast to star T’Challa, the black superhero in the American Black Panther franchise whose second installment is slated for release in 2022. “Francis N’Gannou will be the new Black Panther”, writes for example the author of one of these publications shared dozens of times on Facebook since it was put online this Monday, July 26. This information is not true.
Last December, Kevin Feige, the boss of Marvel studios that develop Black Panther, announced that Chadwick Boseman, who played the central character in the first installment, will not be replaced by a new actor. The American actor died in August 2020 of colon cancer at the age of 43. “His portrayal of T?Challa the Black Panther is iconic (?) That?s why we?re not reassigning the role,” Kevin Feige told US outlet Variety.
The filming of the second installment of Black Panther began last June with the majority of the original cast. According to the American site Deadline, Marvel would however have recruited a new actress – the British Michaela Coel – to join the sequel to the film. Only his name has so far been confirmed. If Francis Ngannou had really been chosen to play the role of King of Wakanda, he would have announced it on his pages on social networks, as he did in 2019 when he was selected to play in the 9th installment of American blockbuster Fast & Furious.
Verdict: No, Francis Ngannou is not going to star in the American film Black Panther
In fact, this infox is part of a publication that Francis Ngannou made on July 13 on the Internet. ?An honor to be recognized as one of @marvel’s #EarthsMightiestAthletes at the #SportsHumanitarian Awards. The Predator meets the @blackpanther. Thank you very much for the honor, ?he tweeted, accompanying his post with a picture of him wearing a superhero suit.
The one nicknamed The Predator spoke thus after being recognized as one of the most powerful athletes in the world by Marvel, during the Sports Humanitarian Awards of ESPN (Entertainment Sport Programming Network, a thematic television network focused on the sport). This event celebrates and honors the athletes, teams, leagues and players in the sports industry who positively impact society.