Letitia Wright Says She Went Into a 'Downward Spiral' After Chadwick Boseman's Death

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Art Streiber for Variety

Letitia Wrightstruggled in the aftermath ofChadwick Boseman’s death.

inVariety’s cover story published Wednesday, Wright, 28, described experiencing a “downward spiral” after herBlack Panthercostardiedfrom colon cancer in August 2020 at the age of 43.

Per the outlet, the actress struggled to sleep after Boseman’s death, which she initially assumed was a bad joke when the tragic news first reached her in London, and was “distraught” that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented her from traveling to the U.S. to attend a private memorial service for Boseman.

“Like, blessDaniel [Kaluuya]— he came to see me and stuff. But it wasn’t enough,” she added. “I wanted to book a flight that day.”

In the cover story, Wright said that she contactedBlack Panthercostar Kaluuya, who was also in London, upon learning of Boseman’s death after she initially attempted to directly reach Boseman himself.

Art Streiber for Variety

“I was like, ‘Yo, I think everybody’s tripping right now. I’m giving you like five seconds to tell me that this is not real,’ " Wright said of her phone call with Kaluuya. “He was super silent. I was like, ‘OK, fine, if you’re not gonna tell me, I’m going to continue calling Chad until he picks up.’ "

Wright recalled Kaluuya asking her “what are you doing?” as she continued to try to reach Boseman while they were already on the phone, according toVariety.

“I’m calling Chad,” Wright told Kaluuya, who only responded: “Tish, his family…”

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“Chadwick’s smile was big like a Cheshire cat, but when he became T’Challa, the smile got small — you wouldn’t see his teeth,” Coogler said. “She was the only actor who would get him to smile as Chad.”

As Coogler rewrote the sequel’s script to accommodate for Boseman’s death — the actor had kept his illness so secret that nobody involved with the movie knew he was sick — Wright said she and the director had a “gentle conversation” about how to move forward.

“He found me and said, ‘We have to talk about this,'” Wright toldVariety. “It was a gentle conversation. I said, ‘I’m going to dedicate this movie to Chad and to God, and I’m going to give my all. Whatever you need from me, I’ll do it.’ "

“I just trusted him all the way,” the actress said of Coogler. “He believed in me all the way.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Foreveris in theaters Nov. 11.

source: people.com