Disney honours Chadwick Boseman on birthday

Los Angeles: The Walt Disney Company has honoured Hollywood star Chadwick Boseman on what would have been the late actor's 44th birthday by adding new opening credits to 2018's 'Black Panther', his first and last film as the titular superhero.

Boseman, who attained global stardom as King T'Challa of fictitious African country Wakanda aka superhero Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), died in August after a four year-long secret battle with colon cancer.

About 30 seconds long, the credit scene is a montage comprising Boseman's work as Black Panther. The Marvel logo is done all in purple, the colour of the superhero's costume.

"Long live the King. #WakandaForever," reads the Twitter message from Marvel Studios.

Disney chairman Bob Iger on Saturday had asked 'Black Panther' fans to watch the film on the streamer "for a special tribute to someone that was and will always be near and dear to our hearts."

'Black Panther' was a major hit for Disney-owned Marvel Studios, grossing over USD 1.3 billion in worldwide gross and becoming the first superhero film to be nominated for the best picture at Oscars. The film took home three trophies for original score, costume design and production design.

Boseman's Marvel co-stars Lupita Nyong'o, Michael B Jordan, and Mark Ruffalo also remembered the star on his birthday.

"Deeply loved, sorely missed. #ChadwickBoseman," wrote Nyong'o, who played Nakia, an undercover spy for Wakanda and T'Challa's love interest in 'Black Panther' on Twitter.

"Continue watching over us King. Happy birthday. Miss you," captioned Jordan their black-and-white photo on Instagram. Jordan played the antagonist Erik Killmonger, cousin to Boseman's T'Challa in the 2018 film.