Downtown Disney has unveiled a new mural dedicated to Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman. The actor passed away on August 28th at the age of 43 after a secret battle with colon cancer. Only a handful of people who were truly close to Boseman knew what he was dealing with, which stretches all the way back to when he was on the set of Black Panther. Weeks later, the world is still mourning and paying tribute to Boseman.
Nikkolas Smith is the artist responsible for the new mural of Chadwick Boseman. He shared images of the Downtown Disney mural, which is of Boseman giving the Wakanda salute to a young child wearing a Black Panther mask. It’s a powerful image that will soon be all over social media once more people start visiting the area right outside Disneyland. Smith had this to say about his tribute to Boseman.
“This one is special. My King Chad tribute is now on a wall on display at Downtown Disney. It is a full circle moment for me: my final two projects as a Disney Imagineer last summer were working on the Children’s Hospital project and the Avengers Campus. To millions of kids, T’Challa was a legend larger than life, and there was no one more worthy to fill those shoes than Chadwick Boseman. I’m so thankful to be able to honor Chadwick’s life and purpose in this way. I am grateful to the Disney family for being so supportive of my journey as an artist.”
The new Downtown Disney mural comes after Marvel Comics started printing tributes to Chadwick Boseman on all of their most recent covers of different stories. The Black Panther mask is incorporated, along with a banner with the actor’s name, along with “Rest in Power.” It’s just another reminder of the mark that Boseman left on the world in his short time on Earth, which goes far past comic books, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the big screen.
Chadwick Boseman’s Pastor Gershom Sikaala provided spiritual guidance to the actor throughout his final four years, though Sikaala says that Boseman helped him out just as much. The two became close and spoke about a lot of matters outside of faith. Sikaala also recently stated that Boseman was able to give him advice about how to help navigate the media in a more positive light.
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler revealed that he didn’t even know that Chadwick Boseman was sick when they were making the movie. He found out after the fact, like most of the world. “Because he was a caretaker, a leader, and a man of faith, dignity and pride, he shielded his collaborators from his suffering,” says Coogler. “He lived a beautiful life. And he made great art. Day after day, year after year. That was who he was.” Chadwick Boseman’s memory will continue to live on through the ones who worked with him, along with all who have been inspired by him. You can check out the new Downtown Disney mural above, thanks to Nikkolas Smith’s Instagram account.
