Disneyland Unveils Beautiful Mural Tribute to Chadwick Boseman

Disneyland has unveiled a mural honoring the late actor Chadwick Boseman.

Boseman passed away last month at 43 years old after a private four-year battle with colon cancer. The news came as a shock to his fans and followers, as he never mentioned the battle and continued to play impressive characters, including King T’Challa in Black Panther and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall.

Disney recently revealed a mural at Disneyland, painted on the side of the old ESPN Zone Building in Downtown Disney, that shows Boseman as King T’Challa. He’s doing the Wakanda salute next to a young boy, who’s wearing the Black Panther mask and doing the salute back. The boy’s shaved head and frail arms make it appear he may too be battling cancer. The beautiful tribute not only highlights Boseman’s groundbreaking role, but also his commitment to visiting sick children in hospitals throughout his career and his own cancer battle.

The mural was painted by former Disney Imagineer and artist Nikkolas Smith. He recently shared the mural in his Instagram, writing in the caption, “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. 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. I’m so thankful to be able to honor Chadwick’s life and purpose in this way.”

Smith is also selling prints of the mural on his website and will be donating a portion of the proceeds to Children’s Hospital LA and St. Jude.

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