'Black Panther' star gets emotional, cries discussing terminally ill child fans

Actor Chadwick Boseman arrives at the premiere of the new Marvel superhero film 'Black Panther' in London, Britain February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls - RC13C3720770

With all eyes on the upcoming opening of Marvel’s latest super hero film, “Black Panther,” the stars are becoming more and more aware of the immense pressure that such a high-profile role has. Speaking in an interview about two young fans, the film’s star couldn’t help but get choked up discussing the impact the film has already had.

Chadwick Boseman was first introduced into the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe in “Captain America: Civil War” as the prince of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. After two years of hype, record-breaking advanced ticket sales and numerous glowing reviews, the film will debut over the weekend and many are beyond excited. For Boseman, however, two young fans stand out in his mind.

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly’s SirusXM show, the cast fielded some questions. Boseman began to discuss the potential impact that a movie with a predominantly black cast joining the MCU could mean for fans, especially children. That’s when he revealed that he had been talking with two kids with terminal cancer, who died before the film’s release

“Throughout our filming, I was communicating with them, knowing they were both terminal. What they and their parents said to me was, they were trying to hold on till this movie comes,” Boseman said. “To a certain degree it’s a humbling experience because you’re like, this can’t mean that much to them. But seeing how the world has taken this on, I realize they anticipated something great. Thinking back now to when I was a kid, waiting for Christmas to come, waiting for my birthday to come, waiting for a toy I was going to get a chance to experience, or a video game, I did live life waiting for those moments. It put me back in the mind of being a kid and feeling those two boys’ anticipation of this movie. When I found out that they…”

With that, the star had to take a long moment to collect himself as tears ran down his face. After a pat from his co-stars and encouragement from the crowd, he concluded.

“Yeah, it means a lot.”