From Marvel to the world, the premiere of the long-awaited sequel to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrived and the cast used the moment to pay tribute to the late actor Chadwick Boseman.
Recall that Chadwick passed away in 2020 after suffering from colon cancer for four years. The actor left his mark on his interpretation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as T’Challa, the king of Wakanda. Despite his physical absence, he was somehow present because his co-stars paid him multiple heartfelt tributes throughout the night of the sequel’s premiere celebration.
The first of them was the director of the Black Panther, Ryan Coogler, who wore a chain with Chadwick’s face printed on it. The filmmaker revealed that he has actually been wearing it since the filming of the sequel to the film, as he explained that it was a necklace that he had made just when they were ready to start filming, since he wanted the late actor to always be close to him.
It felt like he was always with us. He felt like we had him working close by… I just hope it made him proud.
On the other hand, actress Letitia Wright, Chad’s on-screen sister, recreated the iconic look Boseman at the 2018 Academy Awards. At the time, Letitia shared her hesitation about taking on a larger role in the sequel while reminding herself that Chadwick would have supported her all along.
I’ll always have moments of doubt on set, and I’ll be like, ‘Oh man, I don’t know if I can do this. I could listen to [Chadwick] say, ‘Sister, you’re great. You have this. I’m proud of you’. That really kept me going.
Some of the attendees, including Ryan Coogler, his wife Zinzi Evans, Boseman’s widow Taylor Simone Ledward, Lupita Nyong’o and Tessa Thompson dressed in white, the color of which is used during some funerals in Africa. Additionally, this color is used by many characters throughout the film, and costume designer Ruth E. Carter said that “in the Ancient plane, when T’Challa wakes up and sees his father, he’s wearing white,” so they chose that color because it connects them to Chadwick.
Another actress who has remembered the interpreter of Black Panther is Lupita Nyong’o, who during a red carpet interview with ABC7 said that this sequel is primarily meant to pay tribute to Chad.
Our story encompasses a lot of the pain that we were feeling, and because T’Challa is gone in this story, the real question at the heart of this story is how do you move on after the tragedy, after the loss? And that’s what we needed.
Danai Gurira, for his part, revealed that the king of Wakanda was quite a leader, through the phenomenon in which the first film became, in such a way that this production feels rooted in him and in the power of his spirit, leadership and generosity.
One of the things that most surprised the attendees was the body paint with which the actress Janeshia Adams-Ginyard attended the premiere, because when she removed her cape before all the attendees, she turned around and revealed that on her back she had the image of the actor, as a way to honor his memory.
It is worth mentioning that the main single of the soundtrack of the movie, lift me up, was co-written by Tems, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, and director Ryan Coogler, who described the track as a tribute to Chadwick Boseman. Here we leave them for you to listen to.
Source: Okchicas
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