Movies & TV / News
Black Panther Star Chadwick Boseman Passes Away
Image Credit: Marvel Studios
Chadwick Boseman, the star of Marvel’s Black Panther, has passed away following a four-year battle with cancer. Boseman’s Twitter account announced on Friday night that the actor, who starred in several Marvel Cinematic Universe films as T’challa as well as roles in Da 5 Bloods, 21 Bridges, and more, lost his battle with colon cancer. The account noted that Boseman was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, which then progressed to stage IV, and that all his films in that period were filmed “during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.” He was 43 years old.
Boseman grew up in Anderson, South Carolina and was into performance arts from a young age, writing his first play Crossroads as a junior in high school which he staged at the school after a classmate was shot and killed. During his attendance at Howard University in Washington, D.C., he became a protege to actress Phylicia Rashad who helped him and others raise money so that Boseman to attend the Oxford Mid-Summer Program of the British American Drama Academy in London.
Boseman would go on to pursue an acting career, getting his first TV role in an episode of First Watch. He would go on to do guest-starring roles in a host of shows including Law & Order and CSI:NY before getting a recurring role in Lincoln Heights.
His first film role was The Express: The Ernie Davis Story, though his breakthrough role would be playing Jackie Robinson in 2013’s 42. That film would lead to other roles such as playing an prospective NFL draftee in Draft Day with Kevin Costner and starring as James Brown in Get On Up. Eventually, his most famous role came along, playing the role of T’calla in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His first appearance was in Captain America: Civil War, part of a five-picture deal that included starring in Black Panther which grossed $1.347 billion worldwide. He reprised the role in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame; Black Panther 2 was on the books scheduled for 2022. As of now, there is obviously no word on how those plans have changed.
Following his success as T’challa, Boseman went on to star in 21 Bridges last year, which was produced by the Russo Brothers, and then Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods which arrived on Netflix in June.
On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends, and world of fans of Mr. Boseman’s. He will most definitely be missed.
— Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) August 29, 2020
