In August of 2020, movie fans around the world were shocked and saddened to learn that Chadwick Boseman had passed at age 43 from stage four colon cancer. It was a diagnosis which the superstar had hid from the world since before he began filming the role that would prove his breakthrough, the titular hero from Marvel’s Black Panther.
But as hard as Boseman’s death hit fans, it hit even harder the cast and crew that had worked so closely with him to help bring to life the film that became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, with a box office of $1.3 billion.
Boseman’s passing came during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, and so filming had not even begun on the forthcoming sequel. However, according to an Empire magazine article on Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever, the cast made a pilgrimage to his gravesite at the Welfare Baptist Church in his hometown of Anderson, South Carolina.
Director Ryan Coogler told Empire:
“It was essential to have that moment to physically go and pay our respects, and to be with members of his family gave me an emotional allowance to step back into that world in a way that I couldn’t have known I needed until I was there.”
Dominique Thorne is a newcomer to the Black Panther film franchise, playing the character Ironheart who will then be spun off into her own Disney Plus series. She told Empire about what a powerful experience the graveside visit was:
“By remembering and saying the name of the people we’ve lost, we continue to add power to their name. And that’s exactly what we did that day by telling and hearing stories about him. I can’t imagine having started this journey any other way.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be released to theaters worldwide on Nov. 11.
