10 Devastating Off-Screen Movie Deaths
3. T'Challa - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ryan Coogler had the horrible job of addressing the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, who passed in 2020. By all accounts, the man was as much a hero off screen as he was on it, and the decision was made not to recast T'Challa, but rather to lay him to rest.
The Black Panther sequel dealt with the Wakandan King's death with grace, and it was truly heartbreaking. The very first scene showed Shuri's (Letitia Wright) lab in a frenzied panic trying to find a way to save T'Challa's life, before Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) entered to deliver the news that her son had joined the ancestors.
The rest of the story showed Wakanda dealing with the loss of their king and protector, in particular Shuri, Ramonda, and Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia, but it was so much more than this. Both T'Challa and Chadwick Boseman's presence were felt throughout, as his friends and family on screen, and the audience watching, shared their grief.
The entire film was a beautiful dedication to a wonderful actor and human being, from T'Challa's death at the start to both Shuri and Letitia Wright's solemn contemplation at the very end.