T’Chaka’s Black Panther cameo in X-Men ‘97 was met with so much criticism that director Jake Castorena had to explain why they chose T’Chaka over T’Challa to appear in the series. Meanwhile, others wondered why bring back the character at all, now that Chadwick Boseman has passed away.
The Disney+ show has been peppered with a lot of controversies over the course of its Season 1 run, and the finale did not fail to elicit more conversations among fans.
X-Men ‘97 Director Explains T’Chaka’s Cameo As Black Panther
Jake Castorena is aware of the backlash that T’Chaka’s Black Panther has received, but according to the director, it was more of series creator Beau DeMayo’s jurisdiction. Appearing on Comic Book’s Phase Zero podcast, Castorena stated:
Some of the Black Panther of it all are definitely closed doors conversations that I wasn’t privy to. That was definitely in Beau [DeMayo] and the executives’ realm. But for us, there’s always multiple timelines right there. There’s always a one-off.
He defended that the choice to feature T’Chaka lies in the timeline. The show is set in the ‘90s. Therefore. Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa is supposed to be a youngster during this period.
So, at least for myself, this is set in the nineties. If T’Challa is the natural successor and is more of our era now, he would have still been a kid at that time. And while it is sort of retcon-y, based on what nineties series you watch.
Castorena reiterated that “this is an earlier time.” He tells the audience that it’s one of the things that could help them be reminded of the show’s era. “We’re not now, we are then,” he quipped.
This actually makes sense as T’Chaka’s presence in the show denotes that they are still in the past. However, many fans argued that the producers should not have included a Black Panther cameo out of respect for the late Marvel star.
Meanwhile, another side of the community wanted it to be T’Challa as he was the Black Panther in the old Fantastic Four cartoon. Indeed, the timelines in the MCU are both incredible and complicated at the same time.
Beau DeMayo Is No Longer Involved In Season 2
Beau DeMayo’s involvement in the first season of X-Men ‘97 extended even after he was terminated from the show. The series creator revealed in a Twitter post that he is no longer part of the sequel.
“I did write a lot of season 2. However, unlike Season 1, I will not be heavily involved or leading production, cast records, design, editorial, post, music, etc., nor doing any production rewrites as it relates to the creative vision of the show.”
Thank you. I did write a lot of season 2. However, unlike Season 1, I will not be heavily involved or leading production, cast records, design, editorial, post, music, etc., nor doing any production rewrites as it relates to the creative vision of the show. #xmen97
— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) May 17, 2024
Since he wrote the script for Season 2, there is a high chance that he will continue to interact with fans as he always does. DeMayo may also answer some future queries.
As Jake Castorena claimed he was not in the room during the discussion about cameos, DeMayo can hopefully provide the backstory of Black Panther’s appearance.
X-Men ‘97 is available to stream via Disney+.
