“I haven’t grieved a loss this acute before,” director Ryan Coogler said in a statement released Sunday about the surprising death of his Black Panther star, Chadwick Boseman.
He called the late actor “a man of faith, dignity and pride,” and an “epic firework display.”
Coogler recalled watching an early cut of Captain America: Civil War, which introduced Boseman’s character of T’Challa of Wakanda, and how this convinced him he must make Black Panther.
When Coogler learned from a Marvel producer that Boseman decided to do a scene in Xhosa only on the day of shooting, and that he was able to speak the African tongue in such a persuasive manner, it left him “in awe of his capacity as actor.”
During their first meeting, Coogler found Boseman to have “the warmest laugh in the world” with eyes that “could still sparkle like a child seeing something for the first time.”
The director went on to explain that Boseman understood how much Black Panther would resonate, perhaps even more than the director did. He also says that it was the actor’s idea to suggest Michael B. Jordan‘s character’s highly symbolic last resting place.
Coogler wrote he “wasn’t privy to the details of [Boseman’s] illness” and said “I spent the last year preparing, imagining and writing words for him to say, that we weren’t destined to see. It leaves me broken knowing that I won’t be able to watch another close-up of him in the monitor again or walk up to him and ask for another take.”
His final paragraph must be read in full.
“In African cultures we often refer to loved ones that have passed on as ancestors. Sometimes you are genetically related. Sometimes you are not. I had the privilege of directing scenes of Chad’s character, T’Challa, communicating with the ancestors of Wakanda. We were in Atlanta, in an abandoned warehouse, with bluescreens, and massive movie lights, but Chad’s performance made it feel real. I think it was because from the time that I met him, the ancestors spoke through him. It’s no secret to me now how he was able to skillfully portray some of our most notable ones. I had no doubt that he would live on and continue to bless us with more. But it is with a heavy heart and a sense of deep gratitude to have ever been in his presence, that I have to reckon with the fact that Chad is an ancestor now. And I know that he will watch over us, until we meet again.”
Coogler’s full statement is at Deadline.
Many other friends and co-stars have shared their thoughts on Boseman’s passing on social media.
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