Winston Duke and Michaela Coel on filming Wakanda Forever without the late Chadwick Boseman

Michaela Coel and Winston Duke candidly shared what it was like filming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever without the late star Chadwick Boseman.

The pair will talk about the impact of Chadwick’s death on filming during an appearance on BBC One’s The Graham Norton Show on Friday.

Speaking to Graham, Winston, 35, said that while it was great to be back with the cast, “Chadwick left this huge gaping hole, which was really hard to fill and you really felt it.”

‘He left this huge gaping hole’: Winston Duke and Michaela Coel (pictured) revealed on the Graham Norton Show this week what it was like filming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever without the late Chadwick Boseman

“It was really melancholy to put yourself back in the shoes of all this,” he said.

He went on to say that he visited Chadwick’s grave and “asked for his blessing.”

“Visiting his grave to say goodbye formally and ask for his blessing was really great to help cope with it as it was such a surprise – none of us knew he was sick and we were only weeks away of the shooting when we learned of his death. ‘ he said.

Tragic: In August 2020, Black Panther star Chadwick died aged 43 after a four-year private battle with colon cancer

“The film is deeply about grief and how difficult and messy it is, there’s no pretty perfect way to get through it, and it changes you forever.”

Michaela added: “For me, visiting the grave allowed me to see Chadwick not just from a Marvel perspective, but to understand that this was a friend of this cast and that it was a real human loss. ‘

Earlier this week, Lupita Nyong’o revealed what it was like filming without Chadwick, saying that “it was hollow.”

Speaking to Graham, Winston, 35, said that while it was great to be back with the cast, ‘Chadwick left this huge gaping hole, which was really hard to fill and you really felt it’

“It was hollow. It was very clear that he was missing and we all felt it, but we also had each other, so we were able to lean against each other, it was really the only way to move forward. there for each other,” the actress, 39, said on Good Morning America.

“It was good to do this with a bunch of people who knew him, who had experienced his light and his love and so we could have compassion and really lean on each other,” she added.

In August 2020, Black Panther star Chadwick died at the age of 43 after a four-year private battle with colon cancer.

“It is with immeasurable sadness that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman. Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016 and has battled it for the past 4 years as it progressed to stage IV,” the family said in a statement at the time.

“A true fighter, Chadwick has pushed through and brought you many of the movies you’ve come to love.”

The family revealed that several of his films, including Marshall, Da 5 Bloods and August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, were filmed “during and in between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.”

Star: Chadwick is portrayed in Black Panther shortly before his death