Lupita \u2063Nyong\u2019o recently opened up about \u2063her late “Black Panther” co-star, Chadwick Boseman<\/strong>, during a Q&A \u2063at the BFI London Film\u2062 Festival. The session,\u2062 which was intended to \u2064highlight her \u2062illustrious career, took an emotional turn when a clip from the 2018 film was played. <\/p>\n “I haven\u2019t seen the \u200dfilm since Chadwick died,” Nyong\u2019o confessed,\u200d visibly moved. Struggling to hold back \u2063tears, she \u200cchose to persist\u2063 with\u2063 her\u200b tribute, despite the moderator’s suggestion to switch topics. “The grief is just the love,” she stated firmly. “There\u2019s no\u200d place to put it. I don\u2019t run away from the tears or the\u2063 grief. You just live with it.”<\/p>\n Boseman, who tragically passed away from colon cancer in 2020 at the \u200cage of 43, remains a \u2063towering figure in Nyong\u2019o\u2019s memories. Their on-screen chemistry as\u2062 Nakia and T\u2019Challa was electric, and it\u2019s clear that \u200btheir bond extended well beyond \u200dthe screen. Nyong\u2019o’s poignant words echoed the \u200csentiments of many who still feel the void left by Boseman’s\u200b absence.<\/p>\n During the same Q&A,\u200b Nyong\u2019o shared \u2064fascinating \u2064insights into the making of “Black Panther”. Initially, \u2064she was \u2064in talks for another Marvel<\/strong> project when her agent\u2064 informed\u2063 her of director \u2063Ryan \u200bCoogler’s interest in her\u200b for the role\u2063 of Nakia. “I got on the phone with Ryan, and\u2063 he walked me through this story about a fictional African country,” Nyong\u2019o\u200b recollected. Coogler\u2019s vision was to make the film\u200d “more politically astute \u200band relevant \u200dthan the comic book it was based\u200d off\u2062 of.”<\/p>\n Surprised\u2062 by the depth and \u2063ambition of the project, \u2064Nyong\u2019o\u200c needed\u200b to\u200c reaffirm, “Wait \u2013 this is a Marvel movie? This is\u2064 Disney?” To her astonishment, all parties were on board. From the \u2062outset, she sensed they were \u2064onto something monumental.\u200d “If they \u200clet us do this thing, if \u2062we get \u2064away with\u2064 it, it\u2019s gonna \u200dbe \u200bamazing.”<\/p>\n Despite their \u200bconfidence, the film crew faced significant \u2062anxiety from Marvel executives as the release date approached. Nyong\u2019o recalled the\u200d tension vividly. “Marvel was shaking a little bit in \u2062their boots.” However, when the trailer dropped, \u2064the response was \u200doverwhelming. In a group chat, cast and crew \u200dshared memes and marveled at the global\u2064 reactions. The film shattered\u200b the \u2064$1 billion mark\u200c globally in mere 26 \u200ddays, a testament to its groundbreaking\u200c impact.<\/p>\n Reflecting on the gravity \u200bof their work, Nyong\u2019o admitted she\u2019s still\u2064 coming\u200c to terms with Boseman’s loss. Yet, she finds solace in his immortalized \u200cperformance. “We get to see \u200bhim alive. And that\u2019s so wonderful.”<\/p>\nRemembering Boseman<\/h3>\n
Behind the scenes\u200c of a Marvel masterpiece<\/h2>\n
Managing executive apprehensions<\/h3>\n
A career filled with accolades and challenges<\/h2>\n