Entertainment
“Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman is dead!
Chadwick Boseman, star of the groundbreaking superhero movie “Black Panther,” has died after a private four-year battle with colon cancer, TopNaija reports.
Boseman, 43, never publicly discussed his condition and continued to work on major Hollywood films during and between “countless” operations and chemotherapy, his family said in a statement.
“It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in ‘Black Panther,'” they said. “A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all,” the statement added.
Boseman became the first black superhero to get his own standalone film in the record-breaking Marvel franchise with 2018’s “Black Panther.”
The movie, set in the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda, was adored by critics and audiences, becoming the first comic book film to be nominated for best picture at the Oscars and grossing over $1 billion worldwide.
Earlier in his career, Boseman played black icons Jackie Robinson in “42” — today, ironically, was Jackie Robinson Day in the US — and James Brown in “Get on Up.”
The news of Boseman’s death sent shockwaves through Hollywood and around the world.
“The true power of @chadwickboseman was bigger than anything we saw on screen,” wrote Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
“From the Black Panther to Jackie Robinson, he inspired generations and showed them they can be anything they want — even super heroes.”
— Chadwick Boseman (@chadwickboseman) August 29, 2020
A South Carolina native, Boseman graduated in 2000 from Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, DC. While there, he also attended the British American Drama Academy at Oxford in 1998, according to Howard’s website.
“It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of alumnus Chadwick Boseman who passed away this evening. His incredible talent will forever be immortalized through his characters and through his own personal journey from student to superhero! Rest in Power, Chadwick!” University President Wayne A. I. Frederick said in a statement.
