Lupita Nyong'o remembers 'heroic friend' Chadwick Boseman on his birthday

The late "Black Panther" actor would have turned 47 today.

Lupita Nyong'o is celebrating her late Black Panther costar Chadwick Boseman on what would have been his 47th birthday.

The Oscar winner shared a throwback polaroid with the star for his Nov. 29 birthday on Instagram, taken from the groundbreaking Marvel flick's press tour in Seoul circa 2018. Director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan also appear in the snapshot.

"Marking the birthday of a heroic friend," Nyong'o captioned the post. "I am blessed that his time on this earth coincided with mine."

Boseman died in August 2020 after a private four-year battle with colon cancer. He was 43.

An actor who played storied Black figures on screen, including baseball player Jackie Robinson and funk icon James Brown, Boseman was best known for his role as T'Challa in 2018's Black Panther, Marvel's first Black-led superhero movie. Nyong'o portrayed Nakia, a skilled spy and love interest of Boseman's heir to Wakanda, and reprised her role in the somber Black Panther 2, which followed the Wakandans as they mourned the loss of Boseman's king. The end of the sequel introduced Nakia and T'Challa's son, Toussaint.

Coogler previously told EW he wasn't sure whether he wanted to return to the sequel following the loss of his lead star and dear friend. "I was at a point when I was like, 'I'm walking away from this business,'" the director said. "'I didn't know if I could make another movie period, [let alone] another Black Panther movie, because it hurt a lot. I was like, 'Man, how could I open myself up to feeling like this again?'"

Fans have been holding out hope for a threequel, but Marvel has yet to announce anything.

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• Lupita Nyong'o remembers Chadwick Boseman 3 years after his death: 'He will always be in our hearts'

• Lupita Nyong'o pens mournful tribute to Chadwick Boseman 'from a place of hopelessness'

• Chadwick Boseman: His life, his legacy, and his iconic roles

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