Chadwick Boseman, the man who brought “Black Panther” to life, has died.
Actor Chadwick Boseman has been battling colon cancer since 2016 and died at home with his family and wife by his side, according to a statement posted on his Twitter account.
He was 43, his publicist Nicki Fioravante said in a statement.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you so many of the films you have come to love so much,” the statement said.
“From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.”
The statement said the role of King T’Challa was the “honor of (Boseman’s) career.”
A South Carolina native, Boseman graduated in 2000 from Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, DC. While there, he also attended the British American Drama Academy at Oxford in 1998, according to Howard’s website.
“It is with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of alumnus Chadwick Boseman who passed away this evening. His incredible talent will forever be immortalized through his characters and through his own personal journey from student to superhero! Rest in Power, Chadwick!” University President Wayne A. I. Frederick said in a statement.
Boseman’s breakout performance came in 2013 when he played Jackie Robinson in the film “42,” according to Howard’s website.
“His transcendent performance in ’42’ will stand the test of time and serve as a powerful vehicle to tell Jackie’s story to audiences for generations to come,” Major League Baseball tweeted from their official Twitter account Friday.
Boseman made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in 2016 as T’Challa/Black Panther in “Captain America: Civil War,” according to Howard. Black Panther then got his own stand-alone movie that released in 2018, which broke box office records. Marvel Studios president had previously announced the second movie of the “Black Panther” saga would debut in theaters in May 2022.
The actor starred in other films, including playing James Brown in “Get On Up” and Thurgood Marshall in “Marshall.”
Credit: CNN