Black Panther 2 Has A Duty To Honor Chadwick Boseman, Says Daniel Kaluuya

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Black Panther 2 Has A Duty To Honor Chadwick Boseman, Says Daniel Kaluuya

Daniel Kaluuya says that it's important to honor Chadwick Boseman's legacy as the Black Panther sequel moves towards its 2022 release.

Black Panther star Daniel Kaluuya says that Black Panther 2 has the duty of honoring Chadwick Boseman's legacy. Boseman tragically passed away at 43 from colon cancer. The actor hid his diagnosis except from those closest to him and his sudden passing rocked the industry and his community of fans that looked to up to Boseman after his role in Black Panther.

Boseman has continued to light up the screen posthumuously in Netflix's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and the actor will also appear in Marvel's animated series What If..? later this year. As Marvel moves forward with Black Panther 2, the studio is looking at ways to honor the first onscreen T'Challa while carrying on his legacy in other films. Rumors that Boseman would appear through CGI were quickly dashed, as were speculations that the role would simply be recast. It is still unclear how Marvel will move forward, but Letitia Wright's Shuri is said to have a larger role.

Kaluuya, when asked by The Ringer about the sequel, couldn't give many details, but he did say that is Black Panther 2's duty to honor Boseman. To Kaluuya, Boseman himself should be honored before T'Challa and Kaluuya openly wonders how they would go about doing that. The Judas and the Black Messiah actor goes on to cite the impact Boseman had on so many people through his roles, not only as T'Challa, but as a figure and beacon of light in the industry.

For me, what's important to me is not the Black Panther legacy, it's the legacy of Chadwick Boseman, because that's a human being and a spirit that is real. How can we honor that? Black Panther is going to do what Black Panther does, but that's a man that lived for us. He did it for us, did it our nephews, our nieces, our kids. It's our duty to honor that man the way he honored us.

Kaluuya's comments echo the sentiments of many after Boseman's passing. Black Panther was so great in part because of Boseman's take on the character - the actor brought a passion and elegance to the role that reached many. As Marvel moves forward, it's important that they do everything they can to respect Boseman's legacy, including making sure that Black Panther 2 does not alter anything about the character.

Marvel is stuck between a rock and a hard place - cancelling the Black Panther sequel would arguably diminish Boseman's work in the first film, but moving forward is also a complicated path. Luckily, it seems like everyone involved in the film is on the same page. Multiple interviews with those involved have seen the various members of the cast and crew express the importance Boseman will have to franchise going forward. Boseman's name will forever be associated with the world of Wakanda and Black Panther 2 has to reckon with that in a respectful and honorific way that doesn't lessen the very real tragedy of Boseman's passing.