Chadwick Boseman dies at a young age of 43, the actor who played ‘Black Panther’, is a great loss for Hollywood, for the movie lover and for black America.
Chadwick Boseman’s fight against Colon Cancer
The actor died barely 43 years old, from the effects of colon cancer. The disease was diagnosed in him four years ago, but Boseman continued to work. Among other things, Spike Lee’s recent film, Da 5 bloods, he recorded between operations and chemotherapy. Still, his death comes as a shock to many, including me. Boseman never talked about the disease in interviews, instead, he kept it for his own. And his status is hard to underestimate: this is the man who will be remembered as King T’Challa in Black panther.
Boseman introduced the Black Panther character in the Comic-book film Captain America: Civil War, before the king of Wakanda, got his own movie. Black Panther brought two years ago more than 1.3 billion dollars, but above all became a cultural phenomenon. The film was nominated for the Oscar for best film, as the first superhero film ever. The battle cry ‘Wakanda forever’ is once again shared on social media. The second Black Panther movie won’t be the same anymore without him.
Shortly after Boseman’s death, the reactions of friends and colleagues flooded in. “God bless Chadwick Boseman”, writes Hollywood star Denzel Washington. “He was a gentle soul and a brilliant artist, who will stay with us for eternity through his iconic performances over his short yet illustrious career”. Don Cheadle also has warm words for his colleague. “I will miss you, birthday brother. you were always light and love to me”. “I’m absolutely devastated. This is beyond heartbreaking.” Chris Evans writes on Twitter. ” Even Presidential candidate Joe Biden expressed his feeling. ” The true power of Chadwick Boseman was bigger than anything we saw on screen.”
Stronger than the movies
Chadwick Boseman brought history to life on the big screen, from Jackie Robinson and James Brown to Thurgood Marshall’, wrote activist Martin Luther King III, eldest son of Martin Luther King Jr. ‘As Black Panther he was also a superhero for many. And despite his four-year battle against cancer, he continued to fight and inspire. He will be missed. I’m always inspired by people who are not letting a sickness beat them down in life. Chadwick was a true soldier who was making movies while fighting against cancer.
From tv shows to the movies
Chadwick was born in 1976 in South Carolina and moved to Los Angeles in 2008, when he was 32. He got his first role as an actor in 2003 in an episode of ‘Third Watch’, after which he also appeared briefly in series such as ‘Law & Order’, ‘CSI: NY’ and ‘ER’. He got his first movie role in 2008 in ‘The Express: The Ernie Davis Story’, but became known as Jackie Robinson in the movie ’42’ (2013), in which he played the first black baseball player in the Major League.
That meant Chadwick’s definitive breakthrough. Later on he gave shape to James Brown in his biopic ‘Get On Up’, (2014) but his most famous role is of course that of T’Challa, the king of Wakanda in ‘Black Panther’. It was the first film starring a black superhero.
So much potential
The young death of Boseman leaves behind the feeling of a great promise that could no longer be fulfilled. Boseman was, apart from Black Panther, always a better actor in those films than before. And, I was looking forward to future movies with him.
Boseman died at home in Los Angeles in the presence of his wife and family. May his soul rest in peace.
What about “Black Panther 2?”
What consequences the death of Chadwick Boseman has for the sequel of ‘Black Panther’ is not yet entirely clear. The recordings still had to start and most of the original cast would return. Ryan Coogler, director of ‘Black Panther’ and also of ‘Creed’, would also take care of the second part. Although the whole project is still under construction, a release date was communicated by Marvel in May of this year. The film would be released on May 6, 2022. It remains to be seen how the project will proceed.
Topazzi World 