Long before he was cast as the first black superhero of the modern Marvel era, and before he brought the Avengers-adjacent King T’Challa of Wakanda to life in his own groundbreaking standalone tentpole, Chadwick Boseman was keeping notes on what a “Black Panther” movie should be.

“I can remember several times writing in my journals, ‘That would be a cool thing to see in Black Panther’ – ideas from real life, from real history, or real archaeology or architecture,” said Boseman, 41, taking in the sunshine on a Beverly Hills hotel terrace in the midst of a frenetic press tour.



For the record: This article has been corrected with Chadwick Boseman’s current age, 41, the year he received the offer to play Black Panther, 2014, and the film he was promoting at the time, “Get On Up.”

“The projects that I end up doing, that I want to be involved with in any way, have always been projects that will be impactful, for the most part, to my people — to black people,” said Boseman, a playwright and theater director turned actor and, now, blockbuster movie star. “To see black people in ways which you have not seen them before. So ‘Black Panther’ was on my radar, and in my dreams.”