How did Chadwick Boseman feel about playing T’Challa?

Chadwick Boseman thrilled audiences with his portrayal of Black icons such as Jackie Robinson in 42, Thurgood Marshall in Marshall and James Brown in Get on Up, but became king of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as he broke down Hollywood’s racial barriers in his iconic role as King T’Challa in Black Panther.

Before Boseman, the MCU had a limited amount of diversity among its expansive cast, with Boseman being the first minority to headline his own superhero film after making his debut in Captain America: Civil War. Boseman gave the world a leader they could look up to – both on and off the screen.

Ryan Coogler, the writer and director of Black Panther, recently shared the significance of Boseman’s iconic performance in Black Panther, a film in which he said the actor whole-heartedly believed in right from the beginning.

“He believed he was ordained to get that role. We would talk about that, he would be like, ‘Yeah, I had him on vision journals and I wanted to do this role if they ever did it, and I feel like I could do it.’ He was T’Challa before Civil War in a way, you know what I’m saying? In his mind. And I’m sure there are a lot of actors out there like that, but they wasn’t Chad.”

The character helped redefine the MCU, but how did the actor himself feel about stepping into the iconic Black Panther suit?

“I didn’t know if people would be receptive to the culture. I think we created, we had to create a culture.”

Black Panther was the 18^th movie in the MCU, costing Marvel Studios $200 million. The movie skyrocketed domestically and internationally, becoming the highest grossing MCU film less than two months after its premiere in 2018, and making a total of $1.34 billion in box office sales.

“It’s impactful … it’s impactful and I think it’s a special movie – this is not just a popcorn flick.”

The Black Panther actor said the movie was important to him because of its diversity. The world of Wakanda didn’t just open the MCU up to racial diversity, but with its extensive amount of female warriors, it also opened up more roles for female characters.

“It’s important because we do get to see very, very, strong women in this film. It extends that conversation and expands that conversation.”

After seeing how the world opened its heart up to Black Panther, the MCU finally had its first female-led movie with Captain Marvel’s Brie Larson playing Carol Danvers. Because of Boseman’s success in Black Panther, the doors of the MCU have opened to other minorities in leading roles. Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson donned the Captain America uniform for the first time in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and will reprise his role in the upcoming Captain America: New World Order. Iman Vellani recently stepped into the leading role of Kamala Khan, a Pakistani character who transforms into Ms. Marvel. She will reprise her role in the upcoming movie The Marvels, which will also star Larson and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau/Spectrum.

As a variation of the X-Men are set to come into the MCU, a comic book series known for its diversity, the MCU’s future looks to be full of diverse characters from all races, genders, ages, and even life forms. It was all made possible due to the overwhelming success of Black Panther.

“Initially, it was a very, very, daunting task to take on. Mainly because I didn’t know what it was going to look like – what Wakanda would look like – so going into Civil War and knowing I would have my own stand-alone movie, it was a huge, huge, huge task to take on.” .

Boseman said that bringing the fictional world of Wakanda to life had to feel real to the cast, which is why they all researched their roles, developed accents specific to their characters, and brought that world to life. Even after all the hard work, he said he worried the fans may not be receptive.

“Creating this world, I think that is something we all feared the most. We wanted to use all of Africa to sort of create a specific Wakanda.”

He also said the most difficult, yet interesting, part of stepping into the role was portraying two separate characters – the king and the protector.

“He is part superhero, part king, which is…the most interesting part of playing this part.”

More than two years after his untimely death, the fictional African nation of Wakanda will be returning to the silver screen to honor the character of T’Challa, as well as the late actor, who died of colorectal cancer on Aug. 28, 2020. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premieres Friday in theaters nationwide.