'Black Panther' director pens heartfelt note for Chadwick Boseman

Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman passed away on Friday after a four-year battler with colon cancer. The director of the film that made Boseman a household star, Ryan Coogler in a lengthy note has honoured the late actor, reported The Hollywood Reporter. 

 "It is with a heavy heart and a sense of deep gratitude to have ever been in his presence, that I have to reckon with the fact that Chad is an ancestor now," Coogler wrote as he referenced his film. 

The film-maker revealed that he wasn't aware of the extent of Boseman's condition.  “After his family released their statement, I realized that he was living with his illness the entire time I knew him. Because he was a caretaker, a leader, and a man of faith, dignity and pride, he shielded his collaborators from his suffering. He lived a beautiful life. And he made great art. Day after day, year after year. That was who he was. He was an epic firework display. I will tell stories about being there for some of the brilliant sparks till the end of my days,” he said. 

Among other things, Coogler recalls how he inherited the actor, who had been cast in Captain America: Civil War, and that when deciding on whether or not to take on the job of directing a film soley based on Black Panther. “I noticed then that Chad was an anomaly. He was calm. Assured. Constantly studying," Coogler writes. "But also kind, comforting, had the warmest laugh in the world, and eyes that seen much beyond his years, but could still sparkle like a child seeing something for the first time.I spent the last year preparing, imagining and writing words for him to say, that we weren’t destined to see," wrote Coogler.

News of Boseman's passing sent shockwaves not only through the entertainment world but also in the sports world as Boseman gave a celebrated performance of Major League Baseball legend Jackie Robinson in 2013's 42. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Robinson's team, held a moment of silence before the team played the Texas Rangers on Saturday night.

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