It felt like something that was in the original script (because for some reason we always have to kill the parents) that should have been taken out after Boseman passed.
I legitimately felt like I was coming home from a funeral and a wake when i was walking out of the theater. Didn't help that they added to the overall sense of misery by killing Queen Ramonda as well.
They wouldn't have introduced him if the plan wasn't to have him take up the mantle. And why throw away all the supporting cast? Aging the character up will be super easy with Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars.
Wakanda Forever had the "Heath Ledger effect" going for it. Chadwick Boseman wasn't in the movie but the film was all about saying goodbye to him and the character. I don't think another Shuri-lead Black Panther movie would do well.
They're not gonna cancel anything that has already completed filming so Echo, Agatha and Ironheart (as well as Daredevil) are still all happening. Wonder Man might be toast though and who knows what will happen to the planned Vision/Wanda sequel series.
It's purely for time and pacing. If they had included Photon then the clip would have been either too long or we wouldn't have sen enough from any of the characters.
https://aiptcomics.com/2023/09/21/full-december-2023-marvel-comics-solicitations/
https://www.gamesradar.com/marvel-comics-december-2023-solicits-covers/
https://www.cbr.com/marvel-comics-december-2023-solicitations/
Issue #1 was solicited as 1 of 4.
He's not going back to Marvel and he's still unproven as the head of a cinematic universe. Maybe he'll work wonders but right now that is by no means a safe bet.
Lack of a recognizable villain is definitely a problem. You get no sense of character from her in the trailer and she's not interesting-looking. The character is so obscure that he (male in the comics) appeared in 3 issues in the early 90s. That's it.