Ryan Coogler made sure Chadwick Boseman’s family and close collaborators were involved in the process of making “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
The writer/director told The Hollywood Reporter in an article published Wednesday that he consulted people close to the late actor as he worked on the script for the “Black Panther” sequel.
Boseman, who starred as the titular superhero in the first “Black Panther” film, died after a battle with colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43. He was married to Taylor Simone Ledward.
“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,” Coogler told THR.
“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,” he continued. “We’re looking forward to sharing it with everybody.”
Coogler has worked to publicly honor Boseman’s legacy during the making of the Marvel sequel.
The director wore a chain with a pendant that featured a picture of Boseman to the world premiere of the movie in Hollywood on Wednesday night. He told “Good Morning America” at the premiere that he had the chain made prior to filming the project so he could keep Boseman close to him.
Angela Bassett, who plays Queen Mother Ramonda in the film, told THR at Wednesday’s premiere that Coogler and producer Nate Moore had arranged a flight for the cast to travel together to Boseman’s resting place prior to filming “Wakanda Forever.”
“We were able to... give love and to feel his spirit and to stand there with him before we did one frame of anything,” she said.