Los Angeles: The Walt Disney Company has honoured Hollywood star Chadwick Boseman on what would have been the late actor’s 44th birthday by adding new opening credits to 2018’s “Black Panther”, his first and last film as the titular superhero. Boseman, who attained global stardom as King T’Challa of fictitious African country Wakanda aka superhero Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), died in August after a four year-long secret battle with colon cancer.
Disney Plus, the parent company’s streaming service, updated the credits to “Black Panther”, the video of which was also shared by Marvel Studios on social media on Sunday. About 30 seconds long, the credit scene is a montage comprising Boseman’s work as Black Panther. The Marvel logo is done all in purple, the colour of the superhero’s costume. “Long live the King. #WakandaForever,” reads the Twitter message from Marvel Studios.
Disney chairman Bob Iger on Saturday had asked “Black Panther” fans to watch the film on the streamer “for a special tribute to someone that was and will always be near and dear to our hearts.” “Black Panther” was a major hit for Disney-owned Marvel Studios, grossing over USD 1.3 billion in worldwide gross and becoming the first superhero film to be nominated for the best picture at Oscars. The film took home three trophies for original score, costume design and production design. Boseman’s Marvel co-stars Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B Jordan, and Mark Ruffalo also remembered the star on his birthday.
“Deeply loved, sorely missed. #ChadwickBoseman,” wrote Nyong’o, who played Nakia, an undercover spy for Wakanda and T’Challa’s love interest in “Black Panther” on Twitter. “Continue watching over us King. Happy birthday. Miss you,” captioned Jordan their black-and-white photo on Instagram. Jordan played the antagonist Erik Killmonger, cousin to Boseman’s T’Challa in the 2018 film.
Hulk star Ruffalo also shared a memory from the past with the actor and wrote, “Thinking of your passion, love, and your light today, @chadwickboseman. Happy Birthday. Wishing we could time travel back to this moment.” Boseman’s alma mater, Howard University, also honoured him on Twitter. “Gone but not forgotten! Rest in Power,” the post from the school read. The actor delivered the keynote address at the prestigious HBCU’s commencement ceremony in 2018. Viola Davis, Boseman’s co-star in his swansong “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which is slated to be released on December 18, said the actor is “still alive” for her. “Happy birthday in Heaven, Chadwick! You are still alive to me!! I love you,” Davis wrote.
Much before “Black Panther”, Boseman had made a name for himself by playing iconic black historical figures like baseball star Jackie Robinson in “42”, singer-songwriter James Brown in “Get on Up” and the first African-American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in “Marshall”. The actor first appeared as T’Challa in MCU’s “Captain America: Civil War” in 2016 in a brief role before he was introduced as Black Panther in the eponymous film two years later.
His final two appearances as the superhero were “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) and “Avengers: Endgame” (2019). Earlier this month, “Black Panther” executive producer Victoria Alonso revealed the team has no plans to use a digital double for Boseman in the sequel.
Shooting on “Black Panther 2” is expected to begin in Atlanta in July and last for over six months. Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta, who was one of the stars of Netflix’s “Narcos: Mexico”, is in talks to play one of the antagonists. Franchise stars Nyong’o, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett are expected to return for the new feature.
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