ABC to air 'Black Panther' as tribute to Chadwick Boseman

Associated Press
Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020 11:19 a.m. | Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020 11:19 a.m.

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A portrait of the late actor Chadwick Boseman as the character T’Challa in the 2018 film “Black Panther” is held by a participant in a news conference celebrating his life, Saturday, Aug. 29. 2020, in Los Angeles. Boseman died Friday at 43 after a four-year fight with colon cancer.

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In this Jan. 27, 2019 file photo, Chadwick Boseman arrives at the 25th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles.

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Invision/AP

In this Feb. 8, 2018 file photo, actors Michael B. Jordan, Leitia Wright, Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Daniel Kaluuya and Danai Gurira pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film “Black Panther” in London.

NEW YORK — ABC will air “Black Panther” commercial-free Sunday as a prime-time tribute to Chadwick Boseman.

The film will be followed by an ABC News Special, “Chadwick Bosmeman: A Tribute for a King.” Disney said the special “will celebrate Boseman’s storied life, legacy and career” and “shine a light on the medical condition he privately battled.”

Boseman died Friday after a four-year battle with colon cancer. He was 43.

Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, released “Black Panther” as well as the other three Marvel movies Boseman appeared in. The film will be broadcast at 8 p.m. EDT, with the special following at 10:20 p.m. EDT.

“Black Panther” won three Oscars, was nominated for best picture and grossed more than $1.3 billion worldwide.

Sunday’s airing will make the film widely watchable at the same time in several regions and could a collective place to celebrate and grieve Boseman. He is the latest major Black figure to die in 2020, which has already seen the loss of civil rights legend John Lewis and retired NBA star Kobe Bryant.