Filming “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was no easy task for the cast of the superhero film after the sudden death of Chadwick Boseman, who died from colon cancer in August 2020. The actor, who was only 43 years old when he passed, had reportedly kept his health issues private, which is why many of his industry peers and co-stars were in complete disbelief by his demise.
Now, Lupita Nyong’o has spoken out about what it was like filming the sequel with Chadwick no longer there to reprise his role as T’Challa, better known as Black Panther. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter at Comic-Con over the weekend, the “Little Monsters” actress revealed how difficult it was for her and her cast members to carry on filming the film after such a devastating tragedy.
Losing Chadwick Boseman was a lot for the #BlackPanther team to process, @Lupita_Nyongo says: “When you lose someone, I don’t know when you stop missing them” pic.twitter.com/KsWPuwDOum
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 24, 2022
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“For us as a cast, having lost our king, Chadwick Boseman, that was a lot to process, and in many ways, we’re still processing it,” she said. “When you lose someone, I don’t know when you stop missing them. And of course, we felt it so much, making this film without him. It was very therapeutic.”
The upcoming film, which enters theaters in November, pays its respect and honor to both T’Challa and Chadwick, though Lupita remained tight-lipped on what fans could actually expect from the highly-anticipated flick. Though Marvel has already released a sneak peek trailer of what’s to expect as moviegoers dive back into the adventurous world of Wakanda, there’s little that’s actually been confirmed regarding the film’s storyline and how much camera time — if any — Chadwick will have in the sequel.
“It restored a sense of hope for me in making it, and I think we’ve expanded the world of Wakanda in ways that will blow people’s minds — not just Wakanda, but the Black Panther world. It’s gonna blow people’s minds, and I just cannot wait until it’s not a secret anymore.”
New: @Lupita_Nyongo just surprised 40 kids on stage at the @NAACP Convention, awarding each student with a $10,000 scholarship pic.twitter.com/rEWzZiqXuZ
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 17, 2022
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In April 2021, Lupita had already voiced that the second installment would honor Chadwick, though she wasn’t all that thrilled about returning to the set to finish the film without her beloved co-star.
“People will ask me, ‘Are you excited to go back?’ Excitement isn’t the word,” she expressed. “I feel like I’m in a very pensive and meditative state when it comes to Black Panther 2. [Chadwick’s] passing is still extremely raw for me. And I can’t even begin to imagine what it will be like to step on set and not have him there.”