By: Emily Bracher

Chadwick Boseman, the actor famous for his roles as Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jackie Robinson in 42, James Brown in Get on Up, and many more passed away August 28th at the age of 43. Boseman had been battling stage 3 colon cancer since 2016, keeping it a secret from most of the world as he starred in multiple movies during those 4 years. The news of his passing shocked almost everyone, the only sign of  his illness really shown through significant weight loss, many thinking it was just for one of his upcoming roles. 

Being one of the first superheroes of color to be shown on the big screen, Boseman became an instant inspiration to young viewers. His presence as an actor not only impacted moviegoers, but the people he worked and spent time with. They idolized him as a hero. Coworkers, friends, and others have all been posting tributes as a memorial.

His co-stars from Black Panther have expressed their sentiments about their late friend. Winston Duke, known in the movie as M’Baku, stated, “How do I start to honor a man who I saw as a giant in many ways: with whom I thought I had so much more time…I am absolutely devastated by the loss of my friend and hero, Chadwick Boseman.”

Letitia Wright, who plays the role of his sister, Shuri,  made an emotional video clip that she captioned, “dedicated to my brother”. In the clip, she is reciting poetic lines over pictures of nature and Boseman. “Every time I saw you, the world would be a better place. Words can’t describe how I feel — how we all feel — that losing you was forced upon us, to accept this as a new reality. I wish I got to say goodbye,” Letitia expressed. 

Actors such as Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, and Danai Guirira spoke words of remembrance to “honor a king”. Other stars, not mattering if they didn’t get the pleasure to work with him, payed tribute to Boseman in some way. Pictures of fans have been surfacing through art, posts, and even children wearing their Black Panther costumes. The iconic “Wakanda Forever” salute has been shown by many athletes during their recent games. 

This loss devastated many, some still recovering from the multiple deaths that 2020 has brought us. It is not yet said how they plan on filming the Black Panther 2 movie and if someone else will fill the role of T’challa, or if they will have another character put on the suit. No matter who it is, they have big shoes to fill in order finish what Boseman started.