Ryan Coogler reveals he almost quit filmmaking after Chadwick Boseman’s death

The highly anticipated sequel to "Black Panther" premieres in theaters next month and addresses the loss of the actor's character, T'Challa.

TheGrio Staff

Oct 6, 2022

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is just weeks away and writer-director Ryan Coogler is opening up about his process making the film, including the decision to continue with it at all after the sudden passing of Chadwick Boseman in the summer of 2020.

As theGrio previously reported, Boseman, who originated the role of T’Challa in Marvel’s popular ‘Black Panther’ series, died of colon cancer in 2020. His death before the highly anticipated sequel was set to begin production forced creative team members, including Coogler, to regroup and reframe the story they would tell about the fictional nation of Wakanda.

In a cover story in Entertainment Weekly this week, Coogler revealed he almost quit filmmaking altogether after the loss of Boseman. The late actor was not only a collaborator, but a dear friend. “I was at a point when I was like, ‘I’m walking away from this business,'” he disclosed. “I didn’t know if I could make another movie period, [let alone] another ‘Black Panther’ movie, because it hurt a lot. I was like, ‘Man, how could I open myself up to feeling like this again?'”

Walt Disney Studios At San Diego Comic-Con 2022 — “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler participates in the Marvel Studios’ Live-Action presentation on July 23, 2022 at San Diego Comic-Con. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

It was reminisces about times that he spent with Boseman, many during which the star championed the director, that convinced Coogler to continue on the journey. “I was poring over a lot of our conversations that we had, towards what I realized was the end of his life,” he said. “I decided that it made more sense to keep going.”

As theGrio previously reported, the film is somewhat of a meta experience, as the actors were grieving Boseman’s passing as the “Black Panther” characters were grieving the loss of their king.

In breaking down the new trailer to Entertainment Weekly, Coogler said the sequel has a certain air about it. “I think this film has the fog of loss over it and anamorphic lenses warp the image a little bit. Sometimes when you go through profound loss, it can warp how you look at the world.”