Ryan Gosling Will Be The New Black Panther in The MCU From Another Universe

In a shocking turn of events, Marvel Comics has revealed a new white character known as Ketema a white individual who takes up the role of Black Panther breathing new life into an old internet meme that pictures actor Ryan Gosling in the character.

The story is revealed in Marvel Knights: The World to Come #1 (2025), a new limited series by writer Christopher Priest and artist Joe Quesada. The narrative takes place after T’Challa’s death and moves across several timelines to investigate the legacy that he leaves behind. In one of the flashbacks, an older T’Challa performs a ritual combat challenge against Ketema, who wears the Black Panther armor. At the end of the fight, Ketema wins and dramatically reveals himself, showing his blonde hair and white skin. Shouting, “I am king now. Wakanda is mine,” Ketema declares himself the ruler of the country.

This news brought about renewed debate on the internet, specifically about a meme jokingly portraying Ryan Gosling as a theoretical white Black Panther. Since Ketema’s announcement, however, fans have flooded social media to revisit the meme, some joking about fiction coming to life albeit Gosling’s actual casting remains as speculative and unfounded as ever.

A Reddit post, entitled “Guys the meme is real now…,” by Reddit user Solid-Move-1411 from the Avengers subreddit encapsulates the internet’s shocked response to Marvel’s risky storytelling decision.

The magazine also explores T’Challa’s tangled personal past. Having parted with Storm (Ororo Munroe), T’Challa is depicted reconciling with Monica Lynne, a previous fiancée. Lynne is Black, just like T’Challa, and is portrayed as having gotten pregnant. This also questions Ketema’s actual parentage since his look does not conform to the expected features of a child from the assumed union. Whether Ketema is T’Challa’s biological son—or whether his succession is symbolic or adoptive—is still in uncertainty as the miniseries continues.

With subsequent issues of The World to Come forthcoming, those in-store are to look forward to even greater insight into Ketema’s past and how his role will shape the future of Wakanda and the Black Panther legacy.