Ryan Coogler talks making Black Panther 2 without Chadwick Boseman

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"This is without question the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my professional life"

Chadwick Boseman in Black Panther
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)

Ryan Coogler has talked about the experience of making Black Panther 2 without Chadwick Boseman.

"One thing that I've learned in my short or long time on this Earth, however you want to look at it, is that it's very difficult to have perspective on something while you're going through it," he told the Jemele Hill is Unbothered podcast. "This is one of the more profound things that I've ever gone through in my life, having to be a part of keeping this project going without this particular person, who was like the glue that held it together."

He added: "That said, you got a professional life, you got a private life – personal life, I mean to say. When you work in something that you love, those things blend, they come together, right? Your life kind of becomes your work for the better part of it. I'm trying to find a work-life balance, so I'm working on building two things that can kind of stand on their own... But I'm not there yet. So, this is without question the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my professional life. Without question."

Coogler also reflected: "I'm incredibly sad to lose [Boseman], but I'm also incredibly motivated that I got to spend time with him. He's one of those people who, you spend your life hearing about people like this... For this individual, who's an ancestor now, I was there for it... It's such an incredible privilege that fills you up as much as it knocks you down." 

Boseman tragically passed away in 2020. He played King T'Challa in the MCU, beginning with Captain America: Civil War, up to Avengers: Endgame – including the history-making Black Panther solo movie.

Marvel have made it clear that Boseman's role will not be recast, and there is plenty of speculation that T'Challa’s younger sister Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, could take up the Black Panther mantle in the sequel film.

Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.