‘The hardest thing’: Black Panther director Ryan Coogler opens up on filming sequel without the late Chadwick Boseman
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler says making the sequel without Chadwick Boseman ‘is the hardest thing’ for him to do, crediting Boseman as the ‘glue who held it together.’
Speaking with Jemele Hill on her Unbothered podcast, Coogler, 34, said he’s ‘still currently going through’ the mourning process following Boseman’s death at 43 on August 28, 2020 from colon cancer.
Said the filmmaker: ‘One thing that I’ve learned in my short or long time on this Earth is that it’s very difficult to have perspective on something while you’re going through it.
The latest: Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, 34, says making the sequel without the late Chadwick Boseman ‘is the hardest thing’ for him to do, crediting Boseman as the ‘glue who held it together’
‘This is one of the more profound things that I’ve gone through in my life, having to be a part of keeping this project going without this particular person who is like the glue who held it together.’
Coogler said he was focusing on forging forward with the sequel to the 2018 blockbuster, in differing between his professional and personal life.
‘Personal life, I’m going to say that when you work in something that you love, those things blend, they come together,’ he said. ‘I’m trying to find a work-life balance. But I’m not there yet, so this is without a question the hardest thing I’ve had to do in my professional life.’
He said he was motivated to achieve, drawing inspiration off of Boseman’s memory.
Coogler said he was motivated to achieve, drawing inspiration off of Boseman’s memory
Signature role: Boseman, best known for his role as King T’Challa in Black Panther, also starred in movies like 42, Marshall, Get on Up and Draft Day
‘I’m incredibly sad to lose him but I’m also incredibly motivated that I got to spend time with him,’ Coogler said. ‘You spend your life hearing about people like him. For this individual, who is an ancestor now, I was there for it.
‘It’s such an incredible privilege that fills you up as much as it knocks you out. So often as Black people, we have to pick up the pieces after loss.’
Boseman, best known for his role as King T’Challa in Black Panther, also starred in movies like 42, Marshall, Get on Up and Draft Day.
The actor was diagnosed with stage three cancer in 2016, and underwent ‘countless surgeries and chemotherapy’ in his battle with the disease, his family said, adding that he ‘died in his home, with his wife and family by his side,’ adding that ‘it was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.’