Disneyland honors Chadwick Boseman with touching mural

Disneyland unveils a new Chadwick Boseman mural that honors the impact the Black Panther star had on young Marvel fans.

It was with heavy hearts that Disney and Marvel mourned the loss of 43-year-old Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman last month. His legacy will live on. In fact, Disneyland has commemorated his role as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first Black superhero by unveiling a new mural in Downtown Disney — and the artwork is enough to leave any fan feeling emotional:

Created by Nikkolas Smith, the artwork depicts Boseman dressed as Black Panther giving the Wakanda salute to a little boy wearing a Black Panther mask. It emphasizes how much young fans — and especially young Black fans — looked up to T’Challa, and how important it was that Boseman was able to represent these fans on the big screen.

Smith shared pictures of the mural on his Instagram, writing, “This one is special. My King Chad tribute is now on a wall on display at Downtown Disney. It is a full circle moment for me: my final two projects as a Disney Imagineer last summer were working on the Children’s Hospital project and the Avengers Campus.”

In reference to the kids at the Children Hospital — and the children suffering from cancer that Boseman would often visit — the boy in the mural is dressed in a hospital gown. In this way, the mural pays homage to Boseman being a superhero on and off-screen. And that’s how many will remember him.

“To millions of kids, T’Challa was a legend larger than life, and there was no one more worthy to fill those shoes than Chadwick Boseman,” Smith wrote. “I’m so thankful to be able to honor Chadwick’s life and purpose in this way.”

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