'Black Panther 2' will not use Chadwick Boseman's digital double, says executive producer
"Black Panther" executive producer Victoria Alonso has revealed that the team has no plans to use a digital double for actor Chadwick Boseman in the sequel to the 2018 Marvel Studios' blockbuster. Boseman, who played the titular superhero in the Ryan Coogler-directed movie, passed away in August at age 43 from colon cancer. In an interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarin, Alonso debunked the reports that the makers were considering Boseman's digital appearance in the sequel.
“No. There’s only one Chadwick, and he’s no longer with us. Sadly, our king has died in real life, not only in fiction, and we’re taking a little time to see how we continue the story and how to honor this chapter of what has unexpectedly happened to us, so painful and terrible to be honest,” Alonso said.
“Chadwick wasn’t only a wonderful human being, every day of the five years we spent together, but also, I believe, that what he did as a character elevated us as a company, and has left his moment on history," she added.
"Black Panther" was Marvel’s first movie to be led by a virtually all-black cast. Besides Boseman, the film also featured Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis.
The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews and was equally successful at the global box office, earning over USD 1.34 billion. "Black Panther" was also the first Marvel superhero movie to be nominated for the best picture Academy Award and to win the best original score Oscar.
The sequel to the billion-dollar blockbuster was announced last year during Disney's D23 Expo. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige had said that the sequel would be part of Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
