Credit: Unsplash

Disney added something extra to their stream of Black Panther.

Yesterday was Chadwick Boseman’s birthday. If the incredible actor and star of Marvel’s Black Panther were still with us today, he would have turned 44 years old. Sadly, as I’m sure none of us have forgotten, Boseman passed away back in August after a prolonged battle with colon cancer. When Boseman first passed, the moviegoing community was devastated, with many paying tribute, as his portrayal of the Wakandan king T’Challa, in addition to being an outstanding performance on its own, was a big step forward in the pursuit of diversity in the film industry. As the Disney+ release of Black Panther over the weekend happened to coincide with Boseman’s birthday, Disney decided to add a little something extra to honor his memory.

The night before the film was added to the service, Disney’s current chairman, Bob Iger, tweeted out a message on his personal Twitter. “To all fans of #BlackPanther: watch the film on #DisneyPlus late tonight, for a special tribute to someone that was and will always be near and dear to our hearts,” he wrote.

Typically, in a Marvel Studios production, the film is preceded by a 30-second logo showing clips from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as snippets of Marvel’s original superhero comics. However, at the beginning of the Black Panther stream, the typical Marvel logo was replaced with a special version exclusively showing snippets from the Black Panther comics, clips of Black Panther in the MCU, and a single, proud shot of Boseman in character, along with an updated color palette changing the usual red to a fitting purple. This updated logo was then shared on Marvel Entertainment’s Twitter, with the caption “Long live the King. #WakandaForever.”

Long live the King. #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/uW1KisOkTq

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) November 29, 2020

It is not currently known how Disney and Marvel will handle the production of the upcoming Black Panther sequel, if it’s even still on the docket, or the character’s appearances in future MCU films.