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‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman has died at age 43

Updated Aug 28th, 2020 11:41PM EDT
Chadwick Boseman
Image: YouTube

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  • Representatives of actor Chadwick Boseman, the star of such films as Marvel’s Black Panther, confirmed Friday night that he has sadly passed away at the age of 43.
  • Boseman died after a 4-year battle with colon cancer, something that fans of his most iconic roles including as the titular king in Black Panther were most likely unaware that he was struggling with.
  • Reactions have been pouring in from the entertainment world, as Hollywood and fans across the internet reacted to the shocking news.

Representatives of actor Chadwick Boseman confirmed the sad news late Friday night that the 43-year-old actor and star of such films as Marvel’s Black Panther has died after a 4-year battle with colon cancer.

They confirmed the news in a tweet, noting that he’s fought the illness for years, even while giving audiences performances in major motion pictures like Netflix’s recent Da 5 Bloods. His portrayal of the king T’Challa in Marvel’s Black Panther, though, will no doubt be the role for which he’s most-remembered. “It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman,” the statement from Boseman’s representatives reads. “It was the honor of his life to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.”

I haven’t seen a lot of movies where the audience was collectively moved to applaud or exhibited passionate, loud displays of emotion, but I can still hear the sounds of shocked theatergoers when we saw the Black Panther dissolve after Thanos’ finger snap along with several other heroes. And then the roar of excitement from the entire crowd in the theater I was in when Black Panther returned for the climactic battle in Avengers: Endgame — it was the kind of spontaneous eruption of joy you don’t often get in public at the theater. And it was clear that the character was important and mattered to so many fans in a way you didn’t often see from typical Hollywood fare.

Boseman’s final tweet was posted earlier this month, the same day that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden chose California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. The tweet simply read “YES” and included a picture of Boseman and Harris in an embrace.

Two years ago, Boseman visited St. Jude, the children’s hospital here in my hometown of Memphis to visit with children fighting cancer. In hindsight, that visit is all the more poignant to consider now, knowing that Boseman at the time was likewise battling the same thing himself that many of those children were.

Here, meanwhile, are reactions from Twitter to Boseman’s passing, with even Biden himself weighing in:

Andy Meek Trending News Editor

Andy Meek is a reporter based in Memphis who has covered media, entertainment, and culture for over 20 years. His work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Forbes, and The Financial Times, and he’s written for BGR since 2015. Andy's coverage includes technology and entertainment, and he has a particular interest in all things streaming.

Over the years, he’s interviewed legendary figures in entertainment and tech that range from Stan Lee to John McAfee, Peter Thiel, and Reed Hastings.