Marvel’s James Gunn Pays Tribute to Chadwick Boseman With Rocket Raccoon Throwback Photo

On August 28, 2020, the world got the sad news that Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman had died following a private battle with colon cancer at the age of 43. Boseman’s death was a huge loss, not only for fans, but for friends, colleagues and those close to the actor as well and now, on the fourth anniversary of his passing, Boseman is being remembered by his Marvel colleagues. On Instagram, Guardians of the Galaxy director and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn shared his own, heartfelt tribute to Boseman.

In his post, Gunn shared two photos. The first features Boseman in costume as T’Challa/Black Panther with a Rocket Raccoon prop on set and the second photo features Gunn with Boseman and Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt. Gunn simply captioned his tribute poste “Rest in Peace” with a heart emoji.

Gunn isn’t the only one of Boseman’s Marvel colleagues to pay tribute to him on the fourth anniversary of his passing, either. His Black Panther costar Lupita Nyong’o, who played Nakia in the Black Panther films, also took to Instagram to share a tribute, writing on her post “‘Grief never ends. But it changes. It’s a passage not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith It’s the price of love.’ -unknown Remembering Chadwick Boseman. Forever.” Her post was also accompanied by a black and white photo of the actor as well as one of herself with Boseman in happier times.

What’s The Future of Black Panther in the MCU?

Following Boseman’s death, 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dealt with the actor’s passing by having his character, T’Challa, also pass away with the film being considered a “love letter” to Boseman. The film also set the stage for a new character to take up the Black Panther mantle with Shuri (Letitia Wright). As for whether or a third Black Panther film is in the works, that has not yet been announced, Wright has previously suggested that it could be a possibility.

“You know, we just had a terrific two years of just bringing it out and everybody coming together to support it,” Wright said in 2023. “We need a little bit of a break, we need to regroup, and Ryan [Coogler] needs to get back into the lab so it’s going to take a while, but really excited for you guys to see that.”