Lupita Nyong’o is honoring her Black Panther co-star Chadwick Boseman, on what would have been his 47th birthday. Nyong’o took to Instagram to share a photo of herself, Boseman, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler and co-star Michael B. Jordan, which was taken during the first film’s press tour. 2018’s Black Panther, which had an ensemble cast led by Boseman’s T’Challa, became a smash success, grossing over $1 billion at the global box office and earning an Oscar nomination. Boseman passed away suddenly on August 28, 2020 after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
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“Marking the birthday of a heroic friend,” Nyong’o’s post reads. “I am blessed that his time on this earth coincided with mine. @chadwickboseman (Polaroid taken in Seoul, Korea, in 2018 while promoting #BlackPanther)”
Was Chadwick Boseman Supposed to Be in Black Panther 2?
The Black Panther sequel, 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, wrote out T’Challa in the wake of Boseman’s real-life death. As producer Nate Moore revealed in an interview shortly after the film’s release, Boseman’s passing had a dramatic effect on how the film developed.
“Pardon my French, but ‘Holy sh-t, what happened?’ And at first… I remember, literally, I was on the treadmill, and I got the call, and I was like, ‘Wait, what happened?’” Moore explained. “And then we get on a phone call and your mind is processing it as an idea and not as an emotional experience. Then you start to think about all the, ‘Oh, maybe that’s why X, and Y, and Z was happening.’ And then you process it emotionally and go like, ‘What do we do now?’ Like, should we even make this movie?” Moore added. “Like, how do you respond to the loss of not just your star, but a friend that you made, for me, two movies together with, and not feel like you’re just now going through the motions?”
“I’ve said this and it’s true, Disney never said, You have to make the movie, so figure it out,’” the producer concluded. “They said, ‘Well, if you don’t have to… don’t make the movie. If you guys don’t wanna make the movie, please don’t make the movie on our account.”
Will There Be a Black Panther 3?
While a third Black Panther film has yet to be confirmed by Marvel Studios, those working behind-the-scenes at the franchise have definitely hinted at it as a possibility.
“You know, we just had a terrific two years of just bringing it out and everybody coming together to support it,” Shuri actress Letitia Wright told Variety earlier this year. “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.”
“That’s a great question. To be honest, this is not me trying to not answer the question,” Marvel producer Nate Moore previously told Collider. “We really want to see how audiences receive the film, and I think Ryan’s really interested to see how the film plays before we decide. There are certainly ideas we’ve floated around of what a third film could be if we get to make it. But until the movie comes out, we’re a bit superstitious in that way. We don’t want to count our chickens, because you never know what’s going to happen.”
