Chadwick Boseman’s tragic death definitely left a big void in Hollywood. As the first black actor to headline an MCU film, Boseman held his own in the critically acclaimed standalone superhero film, Black Panther. It was the first superhero movie to receive a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. The Get on Up actor also bagged several awards for his performance, including a Screen Actors Guild award.
The Avengers: Infinity War actor did not go through the typical audition process for the role that he first played in the movie, Captain America: Civil War. Instead, Boseman just sat down with Marvel and discussed what he wanted to do with the role. The 42 actor was already under Marvel’s radar after auditioning for another superhero role.
Chadwick Boseman Auditioned For Another Marvel Superhero Role
While fans came to adore Chadwick Boseman as the king of Wakanda, there was a possibility that he could have played a different character in an earlier MCU film. Boseman had auditioned for the role of Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy, a role that later went to Dave Bautista. During his appearance on The Tonight Show to promote his 2019 film 21 Bridges, host Jimmy Fallon brought up his Guardians audition story.
Fallon was pretty surprised at Boseman’s choice to play the role, as it was difficult to imagine him in Bautista’s iconic role. However, The Kill Hole actor disclosed that, at the time, he had no idea what the role was going to be. It was more about exploring his options and seeing if it was a good fit. Boseman told The Tonight Show host:
“You know, it’s about going and playing. I didn’t think I was gonna get it. And it’s weird too, because it’s a testament, I think, to Marvel because after each film, you know – ‘Ant-Man’ has a different tone and feeling. We didn’t know what that was gonna be. We didn’t know what ‘Guardians’ was gonna be. So I didn’t know what it was. And I only had a few pages at that time. So it was just good to come in and play to see what they did with it.”
Black Panther was a culturally significant film for the superhero genre with its predominantly black cast & crew. Wesley Snipes, whose Blade franchise helped revive Marvel films, had plans to make Black Panther in the 1990s. When the movie was announced, Snipes extended his support to Boseman and the movie.
Chadwick Boseman Gave A Shoutout To Marvel Casting Choices
Chadwick Boseman commended Marvel for its thoughtful casting decisions. Boseman stated that while he was not selected for Drax, Marvel recognized his talent and kept him in mind for a suitable future role. However, they did not reveal these details about the future role to Boseman, until the time was right for Black Panther.
The Avengers: Endgame actor also praised the casting director, Sarah Finn, for her exceptional work in the Marvel casting process. He told Jimmy Fallon:
“Well, sometimes, that’s the way it works as an actor. You go in knowing you’re not gonna get it, but you’re meeting the people that, you know, they might be like, ‘He’s not this, but we’ll put him in this other thing.’ So I feel like that was one of the moments when they were like, ‘Hey, we could use him later.’ […] Sarah Finn, casting director.”
Chadwick Boseman will be missed by the Marvel fandom, as he was undoubtedly one of the best choices the studio made. Boseman’s final performance as the character came as a voice role in the Disney animated series, What If…?. Fans can enjoy Black Panther and Boseman’s other Marvel appearances by streaming them on Disney+.
Source: The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon – YouTube
