Ryan Coogler: His final conversation with Chadwick Boseman

Ryan Coogler
His last conversation with Chadwick Boseman

“Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler (left) was devastated after the death of actor Chadwick Boseman.

© imago/ZUMA Wire

“Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler describes his last conversation with Chadwick Boseman. “I knew something was wrong.”

Shortly before the release of the eagerly awaited “Black Panther” sequel, director Ryan Coogler (36) gives insights into his last conversation with Chadwick Boseman (1976-2020). Coogler recalled in an episode of “Wakanda Forever: The Official Black Panther Podcast” that he called him to ask him if he wanted to read the script for the second “Black Panther” film. “That was the last time we spoke to each other,” said the 36-year-old. “He died a few weeks after completion”. Boseman succumbed to colon cancer in August 2020 at the age of 43.

“I could see that he was lying down as we spoke,” Coogler continued, visibly moved. His wife Taylor Simone Ledward “threw Boseman out during the conversation, he didn’t want her to hear anything that could get him in trouble with his NDA,” the filmmaker said. “She didn’t want to leave. I knew something was wrong.”

Movie star didn’t want to read the script of the sequel

The late actor refused to read the script for the sequel because he didn’t want to get in the way of the studio’s notes. “I found out later that he was too tired to read anything.” The last conversation also discussed Boseman’s plans for his wedding. “He talked about how many people would come,” said Coogler. Boseman also asked Coogler about his child after he was unable to attend the director’s and his wife Zinzi Evans’ baby shower.

Finally, a few weeks later, Coogler received a call from his manager, Charles King, informing him of Boseman’s death. He didn’t want to believe it, so he called Denzel Washington (67). “We thought it might be a rumour”. So he texted Boseman. “I just didn’t want to admit it,” said Coogler. “Everything about Chad was unique. How he lived and how he died was unique.”

Coogler considered retiring after Boseman’s death

Coogler previously directed Next Stop: Fruitvale Station (2013), Creed (2015) and the first Black Panther film (2018). He is again responsible for the sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, but after Boseman’s death he thought about ending his career. In an interview with “Entertainment Weekly” he said in October that he wasn’t sure he could continue making films after Boseman’s death. “I was at a point where I was like, ‘I’m retiring from this business.’ I didn’t know if I could do another film,” said the filmmaker. He couldn’t imagine another “Black Panther” film in particular, “it hurt too much”.

In the days after Boseman’s death, Coogler then “reviewed a lot of our conversations that we had towards the end of his life when I realized it was the end of his life”. The director decided “it made more sense to move on”. He added: “There’s this idea of ​​grief and intense emotions that come in waves. Sometimes a wave can get you so swept up that you lose control of it. You think you’re in control, but the water can keep you coming back remember you don’t have it.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 9th.

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