Over Thanksgiving weekend, Disney Chairman Bob Iger announced in a tweet that the company’s streaming platform, Disney+, would pay tribute to its beloved Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman. “To all fans of #BlackPanther: watch the film on #DisneyPlus late tonight, for a special tribute to someone that was and will always be near and dear to our hearts,” he wrote.
The tribute comes just in time for what would’ve been the late actor’s 44th birthday, and as expected, heartwarming photos and videos took over the timeline in honor of Boseman’s memory.
Chadwick Boseman died on August 28 at the age of 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer. The news of his death dealt a shocking blow to folks around the world as many, even his closest colleagues, were unaware of his diagnosis. If I’m honest, Boseman’s death is one that still rocks me to my core every time I think about it. I still remember what I did hours before the news hit, even down to the exact outfit I had on and what I ate for dinner. Up until that moment, I couldn’t tell you the last time I cried—I mean like, real-deal, snot-nosed, UGLY cried. But on that night and the days following, that’s all I did—only breaking to rewatch all of Chadwick’s films (Get On Up is my personal favorite). As time passed and reality began to set in, the tears slowly began to stop and watching Boseman’s work and various videos became less of a struggle and more of a moment for joy and light. This viral clip in particular of him alongside Black Panther co-star Michael B. Jordan was especially uplifting. Like most, it was and will always be the laugh for me.
As of now, filming for Black Panther 2 is set to begin in July of next year and will last for about six months in Atlanta. Marvel Studios has made no mention of exactly how it will incorporate the late actor into the sequel but has strongly denounced any use of digital technologies. While we await further news, check out the special tribute from Disney to our forever king.