Chadwick Boseman: Lupita Nyong’o leads tributes to Black Panther co-star on anniversary of his death

Lupita Nyong’o has led the tributes to Chadwick Boseman on the first anniversary of her Black Panther co-star’s death.

Boseman, 43, was best known for playing the lead role in Marvel’s ground-breaking superhero blockbuster Black Panther and earned posthumous acclaim for Netflix drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

He died following a private four-year battle with colon cancer.

A year on from his death, Oscar-winning actress Nyong’o, 38, said his legacy lives on.

Alongside a picture of the pair laughing together, the actress, who played the spy Nakia on Black Panther, wrote on Instagram: “I did not know that I could miss both his laughter and his silence in equal measure. I do. I do…

“One year after his passing, the memory of @chadwickboseman remains this alive in me.”

Josh Gad, who starred alongside Boseman in the 2017 legal drama Marshall, was also among those paying tribute.

The actor and singer, 40, wrote on Twitter: “Not a day goes by one year later, where it doesn’t still hurt. But in the darkness, he always reminds us of the light. He was an angel on this planet and is now a Saint on high. Love you and miss you more than ever… forever.”

He also reposted one of the final texts sent to him by Boseman before he died, in which the Black Panther star described a rain storm in Los Angeles and encouraged Gad to “thank God for the unique beauties and wonders of this day”.

The sudden announcement of Boseman’s death on August 28 last year stunned Hollywood and triggered an outpouring of grief from around the world.

Black Panther arrived in 2018 and was lauded as a landmark moment for representation, with a primarily black cast.

It was a box office smash, grossing 1.3 billion dollars (£944 million) and earning a best picture nomination at the Oscars.

Boseman earned a posthumous best actor nod at the Oscars earlier this year for his portrayal of an ambitious trumpeter in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Last week the actor’s widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, sang an emotional rendition of I’ll Be Seeing You during a Stand Up To Cancer charity event.