We’re only a week or so on from the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, but the impact has been significant. The early passing of the actor at age 43 has prompted waves of tributes from across the entertainment industry and wider world, and they’re still pouring out.
Earlier today, friends and family gathered in Malibu, California for a memorial service to Boseman, and in attendance were his fellow Black Panther co-stars Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke. Music was reportedly played on a hang drum as part of an event decorated with flowers and photos of the actor, while other attendees included Boseman’s widow Taylor Simone Ledward.
For those wanting to celebrate his life, a video special is now available on Disney Plus, while other memorials are being planned, too. In terms of the future of the Black Panther series, there’s been some talk of Shuri stepping into the role for future Marvel films, although we’d imagine it’ll be a while before anything is officially announced by the studio.
It does seem, however, that Marvel already want to add something to Captain Marvel 2 to highlight Boseman’s role in the success of the MCU, in which he made four appearances between 2016 and 2020 as T’Challa. We’d hope that there’ll be a natural way for the character to be written out of future Marvel movies as well, while also passing on the Black Panther mantle to Shuri, which is widely expected to happen.
Boseman’s final project, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which deals with 1920s Chicago musicians, is set to be released on Netflix later this year. The actor plays young trumpeter Levee in the production, while subscribers to the streaming platform can also see Boseman as part of the cast of Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, one of his final roles in a run of performances, including the high-profile Black Panther, made all the more impressive by his off-screen, and largely hidden, fight with cancer.