Angela Bassett. Source: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty
During the making of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the cast made sure that Chadwick Boseman’s spirit was felt throughout filming. Angela Bassett said one of the things they did was visit his grave in the beginning stages.
“We were all able to be there, those of us who were starting the projects the first days,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “We were able to do that to give love and feel his spirit and stand there with him before we did one frame of anything. That was such an important grounding for us because, as you can imagine, emotion was all over the place.”
While there, it was hard to not get emotional as they wondered how they would continue doing Black Panther without Boseman, who played T’Challa.
“We were on the verge of tears, of ‘How are we going to do this, go on without him?’”
Boseman died in 2020 from colon cancer. He was 43-years-old.
Ryan Coogler Paid Tribute To Chadwick Boseman At The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Premiere
Director Ryan Coogler said he kept those who were close to Boseman by his side while working on the sequel.
“Chadwick had people who were in his life creatively, as well as family, and we were in close contact with those people, very close specifically with his wife, Simone, and his creative partner Logan Coles,” he told THR as well. “We were staying tapped in with them as much as we could, and it gave us the space to create, but obviously we were seeking out their opinion all the time. We’re looking forward to sharing it with everybody.”
Coogler also honored Boseman at the premiere by wearing a gold chain with Boseman’s picture on a dog tag pendant.
For the sequel, the royals and soldiers of Wakanda “fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death,” according to Marvel.
Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever will be in theaters Nov. 11.
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