RIP Chadwick Boseman

[JasonEvans]

Truly devastating news... The star of Black Panther, the man who played Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, and James Brown... a truly groundbreaking star... dies after a 4 year battle with colon cancer. He was just 43 years old.

https://twitter.com/chadwickboseman/...30165463199747


-Jason "when I first saw this, I thought it was a disgusting joke... I wish it had been" Evans

[PackMan97]

-Jason "when I first saw this, I thought it was a disgusting joke... I wish it had been" Evans

I didn't even know he was ill. I don't even know what to say about 2020 any longer...

[Steven43]

I didn't even know he was ill. I don't even know what to say about 2020 any longer...

Yeah, when my daughter told me the sad news just a few minutes ago I didn’t want to believe her. I really liked this man.

[JasonEvans]

I didn't even know he was ill.

He kept it very quiet, apparently. He posted a photo on instagram a couple months ago in which he looked really thin and people started asking him what was up. He quickly deleted the picture and has not posted any new images since then.

2020 cannot end soon enough... brutal, brutal year.

[YmoBeThere]

Enjoyed him immensely as an actor. Da 5 Bloods was on my list of things to watch. I will be watching it tomorrow night.

[Lord Ash]

So very very young. So very sad. Did some fantastic work, and seemed like such a bright light.

And the times being what they are, and his having played some really iconic black roles, some beloved roles... man.

[brevity]

I was just thinking about one of Chadwick Boseman's performances this week, and not one of the obvious ones:

draftday.jpg

He was the best part of an interesting but frustrating movie. Draft Day superhero roll call: Jonathan Kent, Black Panther, Elektra, Perry White, Bedlam, Captain Stacy, Thaddeus Ross, Clark Kent (TV), John Diggle (TV)

[Phredd3]

Although it was a marquee performance of his, I had not seen 42 prior, so that was our commemoration. Excellent film, as declared by my daughter who pretty much hates baseball.

[jipops]

I can't imagine how difficult is must be even for parents to break the news to their kids that their hero has died. So many little kids idolized his character in Black Panther which created new kinds of aspirations in them. Just thinking back to myself as a little kid, and how the mindset of a kid can put certain kinds of heroes up on pedestals... I could see how this would be devastating.

[Lord Ash]

I can't imagine how difficult is must be even for parents to break the news to their kids that their hero has died. So many little kids idolized his character in Black Panther which created new kinds of aspirations in them. Just thinking back to myself as a little kid, and how the mindset of a kid can put certain kinds of heroes up on pedestals... I could see how this would be devastating.

Not telling mine. He LOVES the Marvel movies, and loves Black Panther, and I just don't see the need to shatter the illusion yet

[Phredd3]

Not telling mine. He LOVES the Marvel movies, and loves Black Panther, and I just don't see the need to shatter the illusion yet

But past a certain age, it becomes an even more inspiring story than the film character. They just need to have seen multiple characters played by a single actor so they can keep the character separate from the person who plays the role. Once they get there, it becomes a real-life inspiring story of an artist completely dedicated to his craft.

[luvdahops]

But past a certain age, it becomes an even more inspiring story than the film character. They just need to have seen multiple characters played by a single actor so they can keep the character separate from the person who plays the role. Once they get there, it becomes a real-life inspiring story of an artist completely dedicated to his craft.

Yeah, my youngest is 14 (fortunately), and he is also familiar with Boseman from his portrayals of three iconic real-life Americans in Jackie Robinson, James Brown and Thurgood Marshall. So while my is quite sad, he also has a good feel for the breadth of Boseman's artistry.

[Lord Ash]

But past a certain age, it becomes an even more inspiring story than the film character. They just need to have seen multiple characters played by a single actor so they can keep the character separate from the person who plays the role. Once they get there, it becomes a real-life inspiring story of an artist completely dedicated to his craft.

Mine is only 8, and he's a sensitive little guy. So I want to let him just enjoy the movies without thinking "Oh, he is dead" every time he sees Black Panther, which is exactly what he would do

[JasonEvans]

Interestingly, Boseman did not tell any of his co-stars or the folks at Disney/Marvel that he was fighting cancer. Kevin Feigie says he got a call from someone close to Chadwick about a half hour before the official message was put out that he had died. Spike Lee said he had no idea that Chadwick was sick when they were shooting Da 5 Bloods (even though CB looked really thin when making that film).

He was a private man and chose to keep it that way. It will be interesting to see how Marvel handles all this in future films -- especially Black Panther 2 which was supposed to start filming in just a few months.

[Lord Ash]

That’s very interesting, especially since there had already been some talk of Shuri taking over the mantle of Panther... I sort of assumed that maybe someone at Marvel knew, and had floated that idea... just in case, I suppose.