Chadwick Boseman’s Final Movie Role Will Be in Upcoming Netflix Movie ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’

Chadwick Boseman will be appearing in his final film following his sudden passing when Netflix releases Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The movie is set to be released before the end of the year, although no specific release date has been attached to the film. The posthumous appearance by Boseman will see him star alongside Viola Davis and Colman Domingo.

The plot is based on August Wilson’s play, which is set in the 1920s and follows Chicago musicians embroiled in conflict and tensions between the legendary performer and title character and her white manager as music rights become a major breaking point. Boseman stars as Levee, a member of the band, with Davis playing the lead role. George C. Wolfe serves as the director with Todd Black, Dany Wolf and Denzel Washington taking on the role of producers.

The film has already seen one setback following the tragic death of one of its cast members. Netflix announced its virtual media preview event would be canceled after originally being set to run on Monday. The streaming service issued a statement, referring to Boseman as a “true fighter.” Netflix Co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, said Boseman is a “superhero on screen and in life” and he could not imagine what he had been going through all these years.

When his family revealed the news of his death, they also shared how he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer four years ago. The disease eventually elevated to Stage 4, but there was never any inclination he was suffering through this fight all of those years. After his loss, one of his co-stars in Ma Rainer’s Black Bottom paid a special tribute to him.

Davis, who also famously starred in Fences, The Help and on ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, noted that she had “no words” to discuss the devastation that was felt after learning of the actor’s passing. “Your talent, your spirit, your heart and your authenticity,” Davis wrote in her tweet. “It was an honor working beside you, getting to know you. Rest well, prince.” She later shared a photo of the two backstage at the 2016 NAACP Awards.