As if this year wasn’t already bad enough, we just lost Chadwick Boseman. He was only 43. And though he never made this public, he was apparently battling colon cancer for the last four years. I’ve heard of suffering for your art, but good lord!

He played so many great roles in his career, but I’ll always remember him for two things. First, Gods of Egypt. I know, weird choice. You probably forgot this movie existed, and I don’t blame you. It sucked. But it was the first time I saw him on the big screen and he was the only memorable thing about that movie. Everyone else in that god-awful film was giving their best serious dramatic performance. Chadwick knew better. He knew exactly what kind of movie he was in and went full Redmayne. He clearly had the time of his life playing Thoth, as did I while watching him.

And I’m sure I don’t need to tell you the second. It was his role in the MCU that touched so many people around the world. Who else could have played Black Panther as well as he did? Who else could have conveyed T’Challa’s strength, his will, his devotion to his family and his country?

And he was only 43, just a few years older than I am. He could have done so much more. He should have done so much more.

RIP – Wakanda Forever