Disneyland unveils memorial mural paying tribute to Chadwick Boseman
A mural honouring the late Chadwick Boseman has been unveiled at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
The artwork shows the Black Panther star giving the famous Wakanda salute to a young fan dressed in a hospital gown.
In his life, the actor – who inspired audiences around the world in his titular role in Marvel’s first film centred on a black superhero – regularly made time to visit sick children in hospitals, while undergoing cancer treatment himself.
The mural was created by Nikkolas Smith, an artist and former Disney “Imagineer” – the company’s job title for its theme park designers and engineers.
Smith shared photographs of the mural and a video of its unveiling on his Instagram yesterday (24 September).
A post shared by Nikkolas Smith (@nikkolas_smith) on Sep 24, 2020 at 10:01am PDT
In a caption, Smith wrote: “This one is special. My King Chad tribute is now on a wall on display at Downtown Disney. It is a full circle moment for me: my final two projects as a Disney Imagineer last summer were working on the Children’s Hospital project and the Avengers Campus.”
He also spoke about the late actor’s huge influence and legacy: “To millions of kids, T'Challa [Boseman’s character in Black Panther] was a legend larger than life, and there was no one more worthy to fill those shoes than Chadwick Boseman. I’m so thankful to be able to honour Chadwick’s life and purpose in this way.”
Boseman died of colon cancer aged 43 on 29 August. He had been diagnosed four years earlier but chose not to make the news public.
