I cannot express how truly shocked and saddened I am over the passing of Chadwick Boseman . The world has lost an incredible human being, a talented young actor, and a role model.
To honor his memory , I’ve managed to put together a list of 10+ Black Panther behind the scenes secrets that fans didn’t know. Rest in peace, Chadwick. Wakanda Forever !
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1. Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke have a long history with Marvel and each other.
The stars first met when they were drama students studying at Yale!
As if that weren’t serendipitous enough, they even went to the theaters to see The Avengers together!
2. Before being cast as King T’Challa, Chadwick Boseman had his sights on another character in the MCU.
Believe it or not, Chadwick auditioned for the role of Drax the Destroyer in The Guardians of the Galaxy . The role eventually went to Dave Bautista.
If you’re having trouble picturing a jacked-up Chadwick, you aren’t the only one. Even he didn’t think he’d get it!
But Chadwick also had a strategical element at play:
Chadwick admitted to Cinema Blend that:
“Sometimes that’s the way it works as an actor. You go in knowing you’re not going to get it, but you know you’re meeting the people that are going to be like ‘He’s not this, but we’ll put him in this other thing.'”
3. Chadwick Boseman wasn’t the only actor being considered for the role of T’Challa.
The other actors in the running were Anthony Mackie (who plays Falcon in the MCU), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Djimon Hounsou.
Hounsou actually voiced T’Challa in the BET Black Panther animated series.
4. The film’s composer, Ludwig Göransson, actually traveled to Africa for inspiration!
In an interview with Pitchfork, Ludwig explained how music from Africa differs from the rest of the world:
“Music from Africa is a language—it has a purpose. You don’t just play music for people to hear, every rhythm is written for a specific reason—for a ceremony, for the king.”
5. Denzel Washington inspired Michael B. Jordan’s performance.
Michael spoke during the presentation of Denzel’s AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. He told a story of Denzel filming the movie Glory and how the actor would wear the scars on his back, even when he wasn’t shirtless to better understand his character’s pain.
Michael said that because of Denzel, he did the same thing for Erik Killmonger.
6. Michael B. Jordan is Ryan Coogler’s muse.
The role of Eric Killmonger wasn’t the first time that Michael B. Jordan and director Ryan Coogler crossed paths.
Coogler has directed all of Jordan’s biggest pictures , including both Creed films, Fruitvale Station , and of course — Black Panther .
7. Wesley Snipes was once attached to the role!
This was long before Ryan Coogler. Snipes was attached to a separate failed Black Panther project in the early ’90s.
The movie never saw the light of day and Snipes eventually went on to star as the vampire hunter, Blade .
The former action-hero has even publicly voiced his approval and appreciation, both for Ryan Coogler and Chadwick Boseman:
In an interview with Slate, Wesley said:
“I know what it’s going to do, the impact it’s going to have, not only on the minds of the community , but on the industry and the minds of those who are now the new gatekeepers.”
8. Michael B. Jordan went into therapy after playing Erik Killmonger.
“I didn’t have a ‘process’ for being Killmonger ,” Jordan told Cinema Blend.
“I just did whatever I felt I needed to do or whatever I felt was right in the moment every step of the way.”
“I didn’t have an escape plan, either. When it was all over, I think just being in that kind of mind state … it caught up with me.”
It’s not hard to understand how playing such an emotionally scarred character could take both a physical as well as a mental toll on an actor.
Thankfully, Jordan was strong enough to admit that he needed help.
9. *Black Panther* was the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
Before Black Panther , superhero movies were by and large only ever nominated for visual effects, makeup, and costume design.
Black Panther broke the paradigm . They reinvented the entire concept of what a comic book movie could be.
10. Michael B. Jordan kept a Killmonger diary.
During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , Jordan said that he created a backstory for Killmonger.
It began with his very first memory and ended with page 1 of the script.
11. There’s a Wakanda bible in real life!
Production designer Hannah Beachler was determined to make Wakanda look and feel as authentic as possible.
To do this, she drafted a 515-page book that detailed the topography of the country, its history, even the religion of its people!
Hannah’s hard work paid off at the Academy Awards!
Hannah became not only the first Black woman to win the Oscar for Production Design but she was also the first to ever be nominated in the category!
Congrats Hannah, you deserve it!
