Lupita feels pained to process Chadwick's death

Los Angeles: Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o said that the upcoming sequel to superhero blockbuster 'Black Panther' will honour the legacy of lead star Chadwick Boseman, whose untimely death in 2020 still feels 'extremely raw' to her.

Boseman, who played the titular superhero in Marvel Studios' 2018 smash hit movie as well as two 'Avengers' films died at the age of 43 in August 2020 after a secretive four-year-long battle with colon cancer.

The studio and the film's director Ryan Coogler had started working on the much-awaited sequel, which will not be recasting Boseman's role of T'Challa, that is, superhero Black Panther.

Nyong'o, who played the role of Nakia in the movie, said that it is still difficult for her to process Boseman's death.

"People will ask me, 'Are you excited to go back?' Excitement is not the word. I feel like I'm in a very pensive and meditative state when it comes to 'Black Panther 2'. His passing is still extremely raw for me. I cannot even begin to imagine what it will be like to step on set and not have him there," said the 38-year-old actor.

Nyong'o asserted that director Coogler is trying his best to honour Boseman and his legacy with the new movie.

"At the same time, we have a leader in Ryan, who feels very much like we do, who feels the loss in a real way as well. And his idea, the way which he has reshaped the second movie is so respectful of the loss we have all experienced as a cast and as a world. So it feels spiritually and emotionally correct to do this," she mentioned.

Lupita further said, "And hopefully, what I do look forward to, is getting back together and honouring what he started with us and holding his light through it as he left a light that we are still going to bathe in."