Ryan Coogler Got Candid About The Difficulty Of Making ‘Black Panther 2’ Without Chadwick Boseman

One name that you should expect to hear during Monday’s Oscar nominations is Chadwick Boseman. The actor is expected to receive a posthumous nomination for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. It was the last movie he filmed before his untimely death from cancer last August, as production on Black Panther 2 hadn’t started yet. But director and writer Ryan Coogler has now returned to Wakanda, and while speaking on the Jemele Hill is Unbothered podcast, he discussed the difficulty of making the movie (for both professional and personal reasons) without Boseman.

“I’m still currently going through it,” Coogler said about Boseman. “One thing that I’ve learned in my short or long time on this Earth is that it’s very difficult to have perspective on something while you’re going through it. This is one of the more profound things that I’ve gone through in my life, having to be a part of keeping this project going without this particular person who is like the glue who held it together.” The Creed director also talked about trying to find a healthy “work-life balance” while working on Black Panther 2:

“You have a professional life, you’ve got a personal life. Personal life, I’m going to say that when you work in something that you love, those things blend, they come together. I’m trying to find a work-life balance. But I’m not there yet, so this is without a question the hardest thing I’ve had to do in my professional life.”

Coogler is “incredibly sad” that Boseman is gone, “but I’m also incredibly motivated that I got to spend time with him. You spend your life hearing about people like him. For this individual, who is an ancestor now, I was there for it. It’s such an incredible privilege that fills you up as much as it knocks you out. So often as Black people, we have to pick up the pieces after loss.” You can listen to the podcast below by following the below link.

Black Panther 2 is scheduled to come out on July 8, 2022.

(Via People)