Chadwick Boseman Tribute Added by Disney to 'Black Panther' Marvel Intro

On the day he would have turned 44, Chadwick Boseman was honored by Disney, particularly its [...]

By Kyle Phillippi

On the day he would have turned 44, Chadwick Boseman was honored by Disney, particularly its streaming service. Ahead of users of Disney+ streaming the Black Panther movie, viewers were treated for a surprise over the weekend as the company adjusted what was seen before the motion picture began. The tribute comes after former Disney CEO Bob Iger hinted at the streaming service doing something to pay its respects to Boseman on his birthday.

When Disney+ users click on Black Panther, the opening credits that typically show the iconic Marvel comic book strips instead show strictly concept art from the film and clips of Boseman from both Black Panther to Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. As for the hint that Iger left on Saturday, he urged his followers to check out Black Panther later that evening for a special tribute "to someone that was and will always be near and dear to our hearts." Marvel then shared the new modified intro on Sunday, "Long live the King #WakandaForever."

On Aug. 28, news of Boseman's death sent shockwaves across Hollywood as no one was aware of what he was dealing with on the inside outside of a very close circle. Boseman was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016 that developed into stage IIII last year. He had kept this close to the vest since he was made aware of his health scare all the way up until his tragic passing. He had continued to work throughout his diagnosis and even had a film released postmortem on Netflix, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, that he had just wrapped up before his death.

Many of his Marvel co-stars paid tribute to him on social media. Mark Ruffalo, who plays Hulk in the film, called him an "immense talent" and "one of the all time greats." Captain America himself, Chris Evans, was "absolutely devastated' after learning of what Boseman had gone through, "This is beyond heartbreaking. Chadwick was special. A true original." In the wake of his passing, it was discovered that Boseman had visited children fighting cancer all while going through the disease himself. Boseman also died without having a will made up before his passing.

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