Chadwick Boseman, who made a global impact bringing “Black Panther” to life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe along with playing Black icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown on the silver screen, died Friday of cancer. He was 43.
Boseman’s publicist Nicki Fioravante confirmed the news Friday to USA TODAY.
The star died at his home in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family by his side, Fioravante told the Associated Press.
Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago, his family said in a statement, which was posted on Boseman’s Instagram Friday.
“Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV,” they wrote.
”A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much. 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. It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.
“The family thanks you for your love and prayers, and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time.”
Boseman died on the same day that Major League Baseball was celebrating Jackie Robinson day, the icon who Boseman breathed life into onscreen.
“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,” the league wrote in a tweet.
Born in Anderson, South Carolina, Boseman graduated from Howard University in 2000. He was just stepping into the prime of his career: After starting out on TV shows like “Lincoln Heights” and “Persons Unknown,” Boseman had his breakthrough playing Robinson in 2013’s “42” and then a year later inhabited the colorful wardrobe of R&B superstar Brown in “Get on Up.”
Boseman found great success playing these iconic roles – he also portrayed Thurgood Marshall as a young lawyer, before his Supreme Court Days, in 2017’s “Marshall.” But he also made the most of his smaller parts as well: In 2014, Boseman co-starred with Kevin Costner as a headstrong but good-hearted college superstar wanting to make it to the NFL to take care of his nephews in the football dramedy “Draft Day.”
It was 2016, though, that started him on the road to superstardom with a cameo as T’Challa, a young Wakandan prince (later king) and heroic warrior, in Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War.” Two years later, he headlined the blockbuster “Black Panther,” a movie that caused a movement throughout the world as Black men and women, boys and girls, took to heart its hero and the cross-armed “Wakanda Forever” salute.
“This experience is an opening for people’s consciousness. Their boundaries should be shaken and moved,” Boseman told USA TODAY in 2018. “There’s a hero here that I hope people grow to love.”
They did. Fans came out in droves, driving “Black Panther” to rake in a box office of more than $1.3 billion, becoming the fourth-biggest movie of all time. The film was also the first superhero movie ever nominated by the Academy Awards for best picture.
Boseman reprised his popular role two more times, in 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
The character was last seen standing silently dressed in a black suit at Tony Stark’s funeral in last year’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
At the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Award, “Black Panther” won best ensemble, electrifying the room. Before an auditorium full of actors, Boseman stepped to the microphone. He quoted Nina Simone: “To be young, gifted and black,” and put the moment in context.
“We know what it’s like to be told there isn’t a screen for you to be featured on, a stage for you to be featured on. … We know what’s like to be beneath and not above. And that is what we went to work with every day,” said Boseman. “We knew that we could create a world that exemplified a world we wanted to see. We knew that we had something to give.”
A “Black Panther” sequel had been announced, and was one of the studio’s most anticipated upcoming films.
Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios who recruited Boseman to take on the culture-changing role of Black Panther, said he was “devastated” by the news in a statement to USA TODAY.
“He was our T’Challa, our Black Panther, and our dear friend,” wrote Feige. “Each time he stepped on set, he radiated charisma and joy, and each time he appeared on screen, he created something truly indelible. He embodied a lot of amazing people in his work, and nobody was better at bringing great men to life. He was as smart and kind and powerful and strong as any person he portrayed. Now he takes his place alongside them as an icon for the ages.”
Boseman took on his first producing job in last year’s action thriller “21 Bridges,” in which he also starred. He had a small but pivotal supporting part in Spike Lee’s 2020 Netflix film “Da 5 Bloods,” playing the leader of a unit of Black soldiers in Vietnam who decide to keep a golden treasure for themselves.
His final role in Netflix’s upcoming “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” cast Boseman as a trumpeter alongside Viola Davis as a 1920s blues singer.
Gil Robertson, president of the African American Film Critics Association, told USA TODAY he recalled being thrilled that Boseman would take on the role of Black Panther for reasons that went far beyond the actor’s pedigree.
“Chadwick Boseman embodied the timeless characteristics of the characters he played, that we all want to follow,” says Robertson. “He had this integrity. He did it with class. He did it without drama. You never heard anything bad or negative about Chadwick Boseman. He carried this positive energy.”
Film historian Leonard Maltin said Boseman “will be properly remembered as one of the most versatile and charismatic actors of the 21st century. There is Black Panther, but look at the roles he embodied, the towering real-life figures he brought to life, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, James Brown.”
Maltin said Boseman’s real-life low-key demeanor and humility helped the actor to disappear into any part he played and become the character.
“He kept his private life private,” says Maltin. “That allowed us to accept him in these guises without carrying any baggage.”
Chris Evans, whose Captain America fought alongside Black Panther, tweeted that he was “absolutely devastated” by Boseman’s death.
“Chadwick was special. A true original,” wrote Evans. “He had so much amazing work still left to create.”
He ended the tribute with, “Rest in power, King.”
Former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden paid tribute on Twitter, writing that Boseman’s true power “was bigger than anything we saw on screen. From the Black Panther to Jackie Robinson, he inspired generations and showed them they can be anything they want — even super heroes.”
Film critic Shawn Edwards said Boseman had become a “symbol of hope and pride” for Black people around the world, with children dressing up like Black Panther on Halloween.
“For the Black community this is the equivalent of Christopher Reeves dying. No one ever thought Superman would die. Now the Black Panther has died,” said Edwards. “It’s devastating.”
