Anthony Mackie says Chadwick Boseman’s ‘Black Panther’ role should never be recast

American actor Anthony Mackie opened up about talk around recasting Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther role following his demise.

Reacting strongly against the idea, the Falcon and the Winter Soldier star told Jemele Hill in a recent interview that the role should never go to anyone else.

“No, you can’t recast it,” said Mackie who plays The Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“I mean, he did that role in a way it’ll never be done again. And I would hate for an actor to have to pick up the baton that he left behind, because there’s no question he was a dynamic figure and an amazing actor,” said the Avengers: Endgame star.

“And just looking at the reaction to Black Panther, there’s nobody that could bring the grace to that role that he did. So I wouldn’t want to see Anthony Mackie as Black Panther, that would be awful,” said Mackie.

Speaking about his close friendship with the late actor, he said: “I knew Chad for a very long time, we met in 1998, 1999, when he was at Howard. And I knew him for a long time, and I’m proud to say, in his legacy he left a generational turn of acceptance, of understanding.”

“I think that’s why 2020 was so profound in so many different ways. And I think that’s why when you saw most of the protests, a vast majority of those people protesting were white.”

“When you look around the world, a vast majority of those people protesting were white. So the responsibility for me would just be keeping his legacy, and his traditions that we’ve talked about—keep that going and keep it alive. Chad was a phenomenal human being and he was a beautiful brother. And he did everything the right way,” he added.