by Designer of Black Panther 2 Explains Kobe Bryant-Inspired Tribute in Follow-Up
The production designer of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever explained how one of the key memorials to Chadwick Boseman in the newest MCU film was inspired by the late Kobe Bryant.
The production designer of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever explained how one of the key memorials to Chadwick Boseman in the newest MCU film was inspired by the late Kobe Bryant.
Black Panther 2 eventually paid a number of tributes to Chadwick Boseman as a result of his passing, which turned out to be one of the most stunning events in MCU history. This was instantly apparent when the Wakandans painted murals of the late T’Challa on the city’s streets and his family led the procession to the cemetery to bury him beside his ancestors, his death acting as a major narrative point.
Tragically, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna were also murdered in a helicopter crash in California in January 2020, making Boseman not the first renowned star to die away in 2020.
And while Bryant’s demise was one of the most distressing events in recent memory for a great many people everywhere, the response to his death served as an inspiration for the Black Panther 2 crew as it was being made.
Kobe Motivates Chadwick Boseman Tribute in MCU
Hannah Beachler, the production designer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, revealed to Vanity Fair how tributes to the late NBA player Kobe Bryant sparked similar tributes to Chadwick Boseman and T’Challa in the MCU follow-up.
Beachler reflected on the memorials and tributes made in memory of Bryant and his daughter Gianna across the world, stating that doing so was one way “we sort of memorialize people that are loved.” She then applied the concept to the MCU, thinking that after losing their lost king so unexpectedly, the people of Wakanda would desire to do something like for him:
“In the beginning, it was a lot of conversation about, ‘Do we have that?’ When Chadwick passed, murals went up all over the world of him and his Panther suit. And same with our heroes, with Kobe Bryant and his daughter, I mean, it’s just how we sort of memorialize people that are loved. The conversation was, I don’t think that people in Wakanda would do anything different, right? They would want to memorialize their chief and Panther.”
Here is an illustration of a mural that shows Kobe and Gianna Bryant holding hands while wearing angel wings in the skies. After his death, similar murals of Boseman were created all around the world, one of which appeared at Disneyland and showed him with a little boy wearing a Black Panther mask.
Beachler had the opportunity to draw inspiration from her native New Orleans while working with filmmaker Ryan Coogler on the procession for T’Challa. She called the scene “a moment to get everything out:” noting how the music and dancing were a means to both “celebrate the life” of Boseman’s idol and grieve him at the same time:
“We have our brass bands, and we celebrate life. We celebrate the loss, but we also celebrate the life of having known them. That’s how I felt when we were doing the procession and the music. It was beautiful, and everybody was dressed beautifully, and it was a moment to get everything out.”
When describing how challenging it was to perfect the processional, the production designer said that Ryan found it “really hard for Ryan that we were doing mock-ups and whatnot.” She reminisced on how the crew worked “right to the wire on getting it done” during production, despite the fact that it was “a little hard to talk about” given the weight of the moment:
In order to make the painting “more of a memorial to the person, to the king, in that way, less the Panther” Brandon Sadler, who also worked on the original film, opted to leave him out of the Black Panther outfit. Beachler stated that the group “wanted to keep it simple,” and that only she, Coogler, and the group that created the painting were aware of the plans for the artwork:
When Coogler, the actors, and the crew first saw the painting, it was a “heavy moment,” she recalled, thanking Sadler for the “absolutely stunningly beautiful job” he made in honouring Boseman:
“When they came on set, that was the first time the cast was seeing it. That was a heavy moment. He did an absolutely stunningly beautiful job. No one had actually seen it, not even Ryan at that point. He knew what we were going to do, but he hadn’t seen it. And so that was quite a moment for people to have to stop, sort of take that in.”
It was no secret how challenging the project was for Coogler and the team, but Beachler delighted in the mural’s ability to give the team “a sense of great pride that he was looking over” everyone as the film was being created.
“I think that there was a sense of also pride that he was looking over us doing our work, doing the work that he loved, knowing that his spirit was with us at that moment. It was hard, and it was heartfelt, and it was not easy for everyone on those days. But ultimately, what we were doing in the procession was also celebrating life.”
Boseman also shared a photo of himself and Kobe Bryant together on Twitter the day of Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s passing, stating he was “heartbroken” and complimenting Bryant for his work ethic and focus:
“I’m heartbroken. Shocked. Husband, Father, Strategist, Philosopher-Poet, Warrior-Athlete, Filmmaker…your focus is magnetic, Kobe. My love goes out to you and your family.”
Wakanda Forever and Mamba Forever
Fans of sports and movies were particularly hard-hit by the deaths of Kobe Bryant and Chadwick Boseman in 2020, especially given that they were just 41 and 43 years old at the time of their deaths, respectively. Bryant won an Academy Award for his work on the 2017 short film Dear Basketball, putting him on the same level of greatness that Boseman had met with his work on the 2018 blockbuster Black Panther. Bryant was just entering the next stage of his life as a family man and businessman.
Undoubtedly, Beachler observed the effect Bryant’s passing had on fans. She felt Boseman’s untimely death during Black Panther 2’s pre-production much more keenly. This mural is the sole representation of Boseman in the sequel other than brief flashbacks to his previous MCU films at the very end, as a result of her desire to honour the deceased MCU actor in the most respectful manner imaginable.
Due to their successes, Bryant and Boseman enjoyed a similarly significant place in the entertainment industry, connecting them together in history in a way that could be surprising given how unlike their careers were. However, considering the outpouring of tributes from both fans and celebrities years after their passing, it seems only fitting to see their effect reenacted in Black Panther 2 as T’Challa was honoured and remembered in the MCU.
On Wednesday, February 1, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is now showing in cinemas, will be streamable on Disney+.
