A Tribute: Chadwick Boseman Tragically Dies at 43 from Cancer
“Wakanda forever”
Announced just now, one of the best actors of the decade, Chadwick Boseman, the star of Black Panther, tragically died at 43 from colon cancer.
A tweet from his official account reads a heartfelt message. “It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman. It was the honor of his life to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.” Below, you can click to see the statement.
Boseman was an incredible actor. His breakout role was in 42, released in 2013 as he portrayed Jackie Robinson gracefully. His first impact was excellent, and he became a big name in Hollywood, and to us audiences after the critically acclaimed biopic. Boseman then portrayed another important figure in American history, James Brown, the legendary artist that was brought to life by the actor in 2014 with Get On Up, which received certain acclaim as well, especially for his lead performance as the title character.
We couldn’t get enough of this immensely talented actor. In 2017, he played Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American supreme court justice. Critics and audiences together hailed his performance and the film itself, as it stands with an 80% “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, along with an 84% audience score. He then shook the world as arguably the best superhero in the MCU, and perhaps all-time.
T’Challa in Black Panther. We saw him in action with Captain America: Civil War in 2016 and realized Boseman’s levels of badassery as the beloved comics character. But it wasn’t till 2018 in his first standalone movie that we witnessed greatness. With a near-perfect 97% critics score on RT, and a number one rank on my MCU list, his performance was absolutely legendary, and so was the movie. The film had gorgeous action sequences, a deep, emotionally-layered story, and best of all, Boseman gave it his all. His acting certainly payed off, as the flick went on to gross over 1.3 billion dollars worldwide, an epic amount. Most recently, he starred in Spike Lee’s compelling anti-war joint Da Five Bloods, which you can stream on Netflix currently.
In terms of cause of death, it was announced that Boseman’s had a four-year fight with colon cancer, and he finally died of it earlier today, in his home. His cancer recently progressed to stage IV, and despite being a real fighter, succumbed to the disease.
Celebrities on social media also took out to express their shock in the matter. Jordan Peele, director of Get Out, tweeted “This is a crushing blow.” HBO’s Insecure star Issa Rae stated: “This broke me.” Even Democratic presidential nominee, and former vice president Joe Biden expressed his grief, tweeting “The true power of Chadwick Boseman was bigger than anything we saw on screen. From the Black Panther to Jackie Robinson, he inspired generations and showed them they can be anything they want — even superheroes. Jill and I are praying for his loved ones at this difficult time.”
These three were just some of the many celebs that showed their support to his loved ones and family as well as expressing their grief. While Chadwick won’t be with us anymore, and we will never see the much-anticipated Black Panther II (was scheduled to film March 2021), his legacy will go on forever.
I will never forget watching an all-Black cast kick ass in the cinema with my family. Especially T’Challa.
As his most famous character, and superhero says: “Wakanda forever.”
RIP.
All of his films are made available for streaming here:
