Chadwick Boseman, known for his role as Marvel’s noble Black Panther, died at his Los Angeles home Friday at age 43.
The actor has been battling colon cancer since 2016, and died at home with his family and wife by his side, according to a statement posted on his Twitter account.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you so many of the films you have come to love so much,” his publicist, Nicki Fioravante, said in a statement.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,” the statement said. “From ‘Marshall’ to ‘Da 5 Bloods,’ August Wilson’s ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ and several more, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.”
Boseman was best known for his role as T’Challa, or the Black Panther, king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda in the 2018 Marvel superhero movie “Black Panther.”
The film was a cultural touchstone — the first major superhero movie with an African protagonist; the first to star a majority Black cast; and in Ryan Coogler, the first to employ a Black writer and director.