ABC to Air ‘Black Panther,’ Chadwick Boseman Special on Sunday

(UPI) — ABC is set to air the 2018 blockbuster, Black Panther, and a special about its late star, Chadwick Boseman, on Sunday night.

Boseman died Friday after a four-year battle with cancer. He was 43.

“Tonight, ABC will celebrate the legacy of Chadwick Boseman with a special presentation of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther followed by the ABC News Special: Chadwick Boseman – A Tribute for a King. It all starts tonight at 8/7c on ABC,” a tweet on ABC’s sister network Disney+ said Sunday morning.

Black Panther is a Marvel comic-book adaptation that focuses on T’Challa, the titular superhero, as he ascends the throne as king of the isolated and technically advanced kingdom of Wakanda, following the death of his father.

The cast also includes Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis.

Bassett, who played T’Challa’s mother Ramonda in the film, mourned Boseman’s death over the weekend.

“It was meant to be for Chadwick and me to be connected, for us to be family. But what many don’t know is our story began long before his historic turn as Black Panther. During the premiere party for Black Panther, Chadwick reminded me of something. He whispered that when I received my honorary degree from Howard University, his alma mater, he was the student assigned to escort me that day,” Bassett wrote on Instagram Saturday.

“And here we were, years later as friends and colleagues, enjoying the most glorious night ever! We’d spent weeks prepping, working, sitting next to each other every morning in makeup chairs, preparing for the day together as mother and son. I am honored that we enjoyed that full circle experience. This young man’s dedication was awe-inspiring, his smile contagious, his talent unreal. So I pay tribute to a beautiful spirit, a consummate artist, a soulful brother…’thou aren’t not dead but flown afar…’ All you possessed, Chadwick, you freely gave. Rest now, sweet prince.” #WakandaForever.”

Tonight, ABC will celebrate the legacy of Chadwick Boseman with a special presentation of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther followed by the ABC News Special: Chadwick Boseman – A Tribute for a King. It all starts tonight at 8/7c on ABC.