It’s been 2 years since the late actor Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer in 2020. Lupita Nyong’o, who starred alongside her Black Panther, recalls the traumatic experience when she found out the death of his dear friend.
Chadwick Boseman was known for portraying the role of King T’Challa in the MCU and Lupita Nyong’o played his love interest Nakia in the Black Panther franchise.
When Lupita Nyong’o lost her Black Panther co-star
When the lockdown was in full effect, Chadwick Boseman was fighting his 4th grade battle with colon cancer. The actor was diagnosed in 2016, yet hadn’t told anyone about his condition. The duo of Lupita Nyong’o and Chadwick Boseman starred together in Black Panther (2018) in which they played each other’s love interests.
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Since the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, people miss the late actor more frequently. Lupita Nyong’o revealed in an interview the moment of sadness she learned that her dear friend had passed away from cancer.
Talk to news.com.au, the actress revealed that she felt like her world had shattered after the news.
“When he died, my world shattered for a while. He was a very dear friend. It was surreal. It was difficult. It was helpful to be with the main actors who had been through the same We had all been together on the first Black Panther movie and we were all dealing with his loss together on this movie.
Lupita Nyong’o said coming back to the set every day somehow healed them. The cast missed him and mourned his loss every day during filming.
“Coming to set was surreal but it was also therapeutic. When he died we were in covid lockdown and a lot of us were in isolation when we found out. I was on my own when I found out. So we never really had a chance to empathize and grieve together.
The actress further explained how the lockdown has also affected her mental health in these tumultuous times and the need for the funeral which she now understands.
“The experience really taught me why funerals are so important and why this time of coming together to mourn someone’s death is so important. It’s one of the ways you deal with the loss,”
The actress revealed there was no one to cry with as the lockdown was in full effect. 10 months after the death of the actor, Lupita Nyong’o returns to the sets of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to reprise her role as Nakia in the franchise.
Suggested: ‘It’s worth continuing after we’re all gone’: Black Panther 3 is already in talks between Ryan Coogler and Kevin Feige despite not having recast King T’Challa
Why did Lupita Nyong’o return for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?
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During the same interview, Lupita Nyong’o revealed why she returned to the sets of wakanda forever, 10 months after the death of the actor. The actress revealed her reasons for returning to the franchise and how she paid homage and respect to Chadwick Boseman in her own unique way.
“For us, to come back to ‘Wakanda,’ even though it was a delayed place to go through our grief, it was the right place because it was the place where we had bonded with him, so that we could come back together in this space and process what we had lost, celebrate the life we encountered and enjoyed,”
Therefore, Lupita Nyong’o returned to the franchise to pay tribute to the late actor and was the only place people around her could feel his pain as they were all in this together. Chadwick Boseman died on August 28, 2020 fiercely battling colon cancer until the end.
It was also recently revealed that the end credits scene Black Panther: Wakanda Forever pays the ultimate tribute to Chadwick Boseman. With fans emptying their eyes and hearts, the film managed to earn high numbers on the Rotten Tomatoes score.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is currently running in theaters for the world to see.
Source: Geographic News
