Ryan Coogler Recalls Chadwick Boseman’s Commitment to His Black Panther Character

During the press tour for his upcoming vampire thriller Sinners, director Ryan Coogler spoke about his Marvel blockbuster Black Panther, describing the level of commitment the late Chadwick Boseman brought to his performance. Boseman’s work was so powerful, it continued to influence his Black Panther co-star, Michael B. Jordan, and Coogler on their latest collaboration.

While on Black Panther, Boseman was so invested in being King T’Challa, he wouldn’t break too much of his character while shooting.

“He was talking in an African accent,” Coogler said to Variety. “Disney execs came to see us on Panther. It was week two and they pulled up and it was the T’Challa accent and they were freaked out. I was like, ‘Don’t be freaked out. He’s working, man. He don’t turn it off until we wrap.’”

That kind of work ethic made Boseman a north star for Jordan, the Erik Killmonger to his T’Challa, as he set out to play the twin main characters in Sinners. Coogler shared that their experience with Boseman helped Jordan “lock in” and draw on the mentorship core lessons learned from a star taken away too soon.

Sinners opens in theaters Friday, April 18.

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