Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Star Viola Davis Says Chadwick Boseman Will Be Remembered As A Hero

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom star Viola Davis says that Chadwick Boseman will be remembered as a hero. While the Netflix feature will be the Black Panther actor's last film, he's sharing the screen with a legend in her own right. No one that worked with Boseman has had a negative word to say about him. Being that widely beloved is hard to come by, but King T'Challa managed the feat. It should come as no surprise that Davis would tell The Guardian about how much of an impact is still to come for the Marvel star. He also played many great figures through history, so his legacy goes even farther than Wakanda Forever. There is no question that the emotions will be running high when Ma Rainey's Black Bottom hits Netflix on December 18th. People are still kind of getting used to the idea that a real-life hero passed away before any of us expected.

"I think he is going to be remembered as a hero," says Davis. "There's a part of the public that's gonna associate that with Black Panther; I do not. I associate that with his authenticity, especially in the midst of a profession that sometimes can suck that out of you. He was a person who lived a life bigger than themselves. I think that his legacy, his body of work, his integrity, is going to influence on generations upon generations to come."

Comicbook.com's Spencer Perry reviewed Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and enjoyed it so much. There's a lot of emotional room to cover in one Netflix film, and the presence of Boseman adds even more complexity. It's a joy and a reminder of a talent who burned so brightly.

"It's not novel to point out that it's a tragedy this film is Chadwick Boseman's final appearance in a feature, but his work in the movie serves as a constant reminder of what a gift he had and how much talent he was prepared to deliver to us, the viewers, throughout his career. What we can be thankful for is that his final two performances, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Da 5 Bloods, can be watched by the world at a moment's notice on Netflix. Watch them both and be richer for it, he made these for us."

Will you be checking out Ma Rainey on Netflix when it drops? Let us know down in the comments!