Chadwick Boseman, hailed for roles in the Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther” and the biopic “Marshall” among others, died Friday - Jackie Robinson Day. It was a tragic coincidence given the actor once portrayed the pioneering baseball legend. The 2013 movie “42” was among those Boseman filmed in Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia.
“I’m absolutely devastated. This is beyond heartbreaking,” actor Chris Evans said in a social media post. “Chadwick was special. A true original. He was a deeply committed and constantly curious artist. He had so much amazing work still left to create. I’m endlessly grateful for our friendship. Rest in power, King.”
Boseman’s character, Black Panther/T’Challa, debuted in “Captain America: Civil War,” in which Evans played the title character, and appeared in the last two “Avengers,” movies, all of which filmed in Atlanta. So, too, did the highly acclaimed “Black Panther,” winner of three Academy Awards.
Boseman died of cancer at 43. He’d been diagnosed four years ago, a statement said.
The movie was headquartered a EUE/Screen Gems Studios and filming locations included the High Museum of Art and Atlanta City Hall. Explore Georgia has a few more sites listed here.
Some “Black Panther” scenes filmed at Tyler Perry’s studio complex. A Stockbridge rock quarry was the site of filming for some iconic Wakanda shots. Filming also took place near the King Center, whose CEO, Rev. Bernice King, has been among the many prominent voices posting messages of condolence and tribute:
Braves legend Hank Aaron visited Boseman on the set of “42.” It filmed scenes at a minor league ballpark in Macon and and the Biltmore Hotel in Midtown, which served as the 1940s-era Waldorf Astoria for the movie.
MORE: Meet the Georgia ball player who was Chadwick Boseman’s stunt double in “42″
Credit: Photo provided to the AJC
Credit: Photo provided to the AJC
Boseman portrayed James Brown in the 2014 biopic “Get On Up.” The movie was filmed in Mississippi but was set largely in Georgia towns including Augusta. He spent time in the town where Brown grew up before filming began.
“He and (director) Tate Taylor came down before they started filming,” said Dr. Yamma Brown Alexander, one of Brown’s daughters, during a 2018 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We took them past two houses where dad lived, gave them a history of the area. We culminated at dad’s home and got a chance to go through his clothes and look through pictures.”
Here’s a short clip from our interview with Boseman and Taylor.
To help Boseman prepare, Yamma Brown and her sister, Deanna Brown Thomas, shared stories their dad would tell them of his childhood. They were impressed at how well Boseman approximated the Godfather’s dance moves and mannerisms.
“Chad did a great job,” Yamma said. “I could tell he took what we said to heart.”
“His splits were spot on,” Deanna added. “He should have gotten an Oscar just for that!”
“The scene where he is walking down the hallway and they were chanting his name and you just saw the back of him, with that red suit on,” Deanna continued. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. I walked behind my father a lot on the road. That walk - he just had it. It touches me every time I see it. Even now, just talking about it, I can feel myself getting emotional.”
Boseman discussed the rigor of the role during an interview with the AJC ahead of the “Get On Up” premiere.
“I just danced,” Boseman said of the physically demanding role. “I danced all the time. We shot dance numbers throughout. I was constantly moving. I had an amazing choreographer.”
He also talked about how much he enjoyed meeting Brown’s family.
“They’re just regular people, which let me know he was a regular person as well,” he said. “I just appreciate his individual experience. I understand it more looking at his childhood and his background.”
“Black Panther,” directed by Ryan Coogler, was a cultural phenomenon.
Celebrities including Ludacris, Big Boi, John Amos, Kim Fields and Tyrese Gibson hit the red carpet at the movie’s Atlanta premiere, held at the Fox Theatre.
“It’s Black History Month and it’s Atlanta. Everything about this city represents diversity, inclusion and opportunity,” Gibson told the AJC then. “I’ve been an actor for many years. There’s something really powerful and life-changing about what’s happening in Hollywood right now.”
Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Nick Fury in a number of Marvel films, introduced “Black Panther” before its Fox Theatre premiere. It was the kind of movie he’d been hoping to see since he was a small child, Jackson said.
He called it “the ultimate Black superhero movie,” to thunderous applause:
The movie’s phenomenal cast included Michael B. Jordan, Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker and Angela Bassett, who remembered Boseman in this poignant tribute:
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