This coming Friday, the latest MCU offering Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will hit the screen. Given that most of the cast from the first standalone film will be seen reprising their roles, the then-main lead, Chadwick Boseman will be dearly missed. While promoting the film, Lupita Nyong’o aka Nakia opened up about the same and how they had the late actor with them throughout.
For the unversed, Boseman – who played King T’Challa in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016. After battling it silently for years – only those in his inner circle knew of the diagnosis, the actor passed away in 2020. Post his demise, the studio Marvel announced that they would not recast his character and that the sequel would be dedicated to Boseman’s memory.
Now during a recent chat, Lupita Nyong’o revealed that the entire case of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – both old members and new ones, visited Chadwick Boseman’s grave before filming started. This reminded us of all the Avengers – along with their families, being present for the final farewell of Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark aka Iron Man. As emotional as it was for us to see the scene, this gesture of the cast is equally moving.
During a chat with Ebony ahead of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hitting theatres, Lupita Nyong’o revealed that the cast honoured their late co-star Chadwick Boseman before filming began by visiting his grave. The actress who plays Nakia in the Marvel Cinematic Universe said, “We visited his resting place before we started filming and we had that moment as a cast.”
Lupita Nyong’o continued, “We went with the new cast who hadn’t met him (Chadwick Boseman) as well. It was our way of continuing this journey.” The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actress added, “It really doesn’t feel like we have anything to prove to his spirit. I feel very, very centered about how we brought him along with us.”
The actress who played Chadwick’s character’s love interest in the first standalone film added, “(Director) Ryan Coogler had an artist make this necklace that has Chadwick’s image on it and he wore it every day. So he’s been with us, he knows what we did.” Danai Gurira, who returns as Okoye in Wakanda Forever, revealed that Boseman’s death took a toll on the cast. She said, “There’s a grief navigation that we were going through as we were stepping back into living in this world without our leader, our King and our brother. That was a really specific journey to take in it.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits screens on Friday, November 11.
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