The Russo brothers reminisced about their working relationship with the late Chadwick Boseman and how his professionalism influenced Avengers: Infinity War.
With their new film The Gray Man becoming the number one film on Netflix, the siblings gave an interview to Vanity Fair about some of their career milestones. When the topic of Infinity War came up, Joe Russo remembered that he had never witnessed more outstanding pre-production work than the foundation Ryan Coogler constructed to shape the narrative of Wakanda.
“They were making Black Panther while we were shooting Infinity War. And they were on a process of discovery with Ryan Coogler. Anthony and I went to visit Ryan early in prep and it was the most impressive prep we had ever seen for a film. He had every wall covered with the structure of Wakanda, the culture of Wakanda. It was so dense and detailed. We were completely blown away. I remember walking out of that room and going ‘that movie is going to be absolutely incredible.’ And I remember Chadwick taking Anthony and I aside and explaining to us this mythology that they had been developing.”
His brother Anthony described how Boseman championed continuity between the two films by providing a masterclass in Wakandan battle strategies and traditions for his Infinity War co-stars.
“We had a depth of relationship with Chadwick. ‘Cause we introduced this character with him in Civil War and he was basically the ambassador for everything that had been done after that movie with Ryan Coogler. He would go off and work with some of the other actors on the sort of Wakanda formation, or Wakanda chants.”
Boseman’s memory remains cherished by his colleagues and fans alike. Speaking about the focus of the Black Panther sequel at San Diego Comic-Con, his Black Panther co-star Danai Gurira said “the most important thing, of course, was honoring our brother, our leader, and our king.” Earlier this year, Danny Sapani, another member of the cast, proudly revealed that the sequel will “blow everyone away.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will premiere on November 11, 2022.