Its been six months since Chadwick Boseman passed away and the grieving process is difficult for Ryan Coogler, who is working on the Black Panther sequel without him.
Chadwick Boseman received his first Oscar nomination posthumously for his final on-screen performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. It’s gut-wrenching to watch his wife tearfully accept his awards and almost impossible to think about Black Panther 2 without the King.
Ryan Coogler appeared on Jemele Hill’s Unbothered podcast alongside his Judas and the Black Messiah co-producer Shaka King, who also directed the film, and spoke candidly about balancing grief and work.
“I’m still currently going through it,” Coogler revealed to Hill. “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.”
He continued, “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,”
Black Panther 2 is slated to be released on July 8, 2022. How do you think Ryan Coogler and the rest of the crew are going to make it work?
