I’m relieved to report that the upcoming installment of Marvel’s Black Panther franchise will NOT include a CGI version of Chadwick Boseman, who died in August from colon cancer.
It’s unclear from where such a rumor originated—or if there had been a rumor at all—but Black Panther 2 executive producer Victoria Alonso tamped down on any speculation in a recent interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarín:
“There’s only one Chadwick, and he’s no longer with us. Sadly, our king has died in real life, not only in fiction, and we’re taking a little time to see how we continue the story and how to honor this chapter of what has unexpectedly happened to us, so painful and terrible to be honest. Chadwick wasn’t only a wonderful human being, every day of the 5 years we spent together, but also, I believe, that what he did as a character elevated us as a company, and has left his moment on history.”
Resurrecting departed actors with CGI doubles is legally and ethically dubious, not to mention pretty tacky. Disney, which owns Marvel, most notably considered it after the passing of Carrie Fisher, who was to play Princess Leia in Star Wars: Episode IX. The studio ended up piecing together unreleased footage Fisher shot before her death to create the scenes in which she appears.
One of the best ways to honor a celebrity’s memory is by not recreating an artificial version of them they did not consent to in life, IMO. I’m glad Alonso agrees.
Chris Pratt’s brother-in-law Patrick Schwarzenegger is the latest celeb to defend the actor against accusations that he’s Hollywood’s worst Chris.
“People are so focused on putting other people down to make themselves feel better,” Schwarzenegger recently told Variety. It’s sad, honestly.”
For anyone playing catch-up, Pratt earned this title after word got out that the church he and wife Katherine Schwarzenegger attend is anti-LGBTQ. Though he tried to dispel that idea—despite the church openly stating that it does not affirm a “gay lifestyle”—other glimpses into Pratt’s private life have only further validated the ranking. (For the record, Jezebel’s official ranking of the Hollywood Chrises puts Pratt at no. 4 and Chris Prine at no. 1.)
Personally, I would love to end all further discussion of Pratt because it’s honestly boring! Plus, I think Jezebel’s Joan Summers wrote the definitive piece on Pratt last month, which gets to the heart of all of our “Chris Pratt: Good or bad? Democrat or Republican?” quandaries:
“…Chris Pratt is a man who stands for everything and nothing at all, depending on who is looking at him. His blank canvas politics make him the perfect focal point for everyone’s collective projections. In turn, that vagueness protects his Hollywood interests, removing the risk of alienating prospective viewers and fans entirely. Personally, I find that much more frightening.”
- Police have arrested a suspect in connection to the Rick Moranis assault. [Variety]
- Ryan Cabrera, whom I last thought of when I finally got around to watching the 2010 reality show Pretty Wild six years ago, is engaged to a WWE star. [People]
- This one’s for everyone else who was on Tumblr circa 2012: the woman who runs the famous (and apparently still active!) blog “justgirlythings” has confirmed that she’s a lesbian and engaged to a woman. [Tumblr]