These Are The 7 Movies Chadwick Boseman Made While Fighting Colon Cancer

The world was left shocked and saddened on August 28, 2020 when Marvel Cinematic Universe star Chadwick Boseman, best known for originating the role of the Black Panther, died at the age of 43. The news led to an outpouring of grief in the film world and beyond, with fans and celebs alike reacting to Boseman's heartbreaking death. In the wake of his untimely passing, Boseman's family revealed that the superhero actor had been living with and treating colon cancer for four years. Boseman kept his diagnosis entirely private, clearly wanting to keep his battle a secret from the world.

The statement confirmed that Boseman had filmed some of his biggest movies while undergoing treatment, from important biopics to MCU staples and Spike Lee joints. It's impossible to understate how much strength and sheer will it must have taken for Boseman to make some of his most physically demanding projects, including a standalone MCU film, while being treated for cancer. These movies will remain a testament to his talent, perseverance, and love for the craft. Here are all seven of the films that Chadwick Boseman made during his fight against cancer.

After appearing in several other biopics — including 2013's "42" and 2014's "Get on Up," where he played Jackie Robinson and James Brown, respectively — Chadwick Boseman continued this tradition by playing pioneering Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in 2017's "Marshall." Directed by Reginald Hudlin, the film focuses specifically on one of the earliest and most important cases of Marshall's career, State of Connecticut vs. Joseph Spell.

Connecticut vs. Spell concerned a Black chauffeur who was falsely accused of sexually assaulting a wealthy white woman. After that particular case, in which Marshall passionately fought to prove Spell's innocence, he went on to become the first Black justice on the Supreme Court of the United States.

"Marshall" performed well with critics, who frequently singled out Boseman's central performance; Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said that the film succeeded based on "Boseman's dramatic lightning." By this point, Boseman had already proven that he was king of the biopic, despite his difficult, ongoing illness.

The first standalone Marvel Cinematic Universe film featuring a Black superhero as its protagonist, 2018's "Black Panther" was a groundbreaking hit that changed superhero movies. A critical smash that also crushed the box office and won multiple Academy Awards, "Black Panther" takes viewers into the world of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, the young king of Wakanda who also masquerades as the vigilante known as the Black Panther. Imbued by the power of the mythical Black Panther and aided by the incredible technological prowess of Wakanda, which the country keeps secret from the rest of the world, T'Challa seems unstoppable — until his cousin, Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, who feels utterly wronged by Wakanda, returns to challenge T'Challa for the throne.

Superhero movies require plenty of suspension of disbelief, and as a result, sometimes they can feel fake or forced, but "Black Panther" succeeds largely thanks to helmer Ryan Coogler's careful, loving direction and Boseman's grounding central performance. Most importantly, Boseman takes this legendary, superhuman figure and makes him feel like a real person, infusing him with a lightness and serious intensity all at the same time. T'Challa appeared in plenty of MCU properties, but "Black Panther" will always be remembered as his best. It's a culturally important movie, made all the more impressive by the fact that Boseman was fighting cancer while filming it.

After the events of "Black Panther," T'Challa makes the decision to open up about Wakanda's true power, inviting the world to see their technological advances. However, he doesn't expect that one of the biggest battles for humanity will be fought on their land. In 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War," the climactic final fight against the galactic warlord Thanos takes place in Wakanda. The heroes ultimately lose, leading to Thanos snapping his fingers and eradicating half of all life in the universe with the help of his Infinity Stone-packed Gauntlet.

As a result, T'Challa finds himself randomly chosen as one of the fallen, leaving Wakanda bereft. Thankfully, in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame" — which was filmed at the same time as "Infinity War" – the remaining heroes figure out a way to bring back their fallen friends. T'Challa, flanked by his sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) and his general Okoye (Danai Gurira), is the first to return to the world of the living.

Not only does Boseman get an emotional moment before the battle in "Infinity War" as he leads Wakanda into the fray, proving his mettle as their king, but he also gets the first entrance back into the real world, making it clear that he's an audience favorite. It's a spine-tingling moment that will go down as one of the most iconic in Boseman's career. "Infinity War" and "Endgame" are huge ensemble films, but thanks to Boseman, T'Challa stands out from the pack.

After the one-two punch of "Infinity War" and "Endgame," Boseman took a brief breather from the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2019's "21 Bridges," in which he plays an NYPD detective alongside stars like Sienna Miller, J.K. Simmons, and Taylor Kitsch. After two criminals kill police officers during a heist, Boseman's Detective Andre Davis is tasked with stopping the men as quickly as possible. To try and prevent them from escaping, he shuts down all 21 bridges within Manhattan to trap the duo on the island, hunting them throughout the night.

It's no surprise that leading roles like the one in "21 Bridges" came along in the wake of Boseman's work in the MCU. The versatile actor was praised for his central performance here: Kevin Maher of The Times called him an "easy leading man," Brian Truitt of USA Today praised the way he was able to "elevate the material," and Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said that Boseman "carries off the drama with style and flair." On paper, "21 Bridges" is little more than your standard cop drama, but Boseman turned it into something special.

The COVID-19 pandemic sent a lot of films that would have been released in theaters to streaming platforms, including Spike Lee's "Da 5 Bloods," which dropped on Netflix in June 2020. It's the story of a group of elderly Vietnam veterans who return to a now-deserted empty battlefield in the country to find the gold and the late squad leader they buried there. The film plays around with time, especially as it pertains to Boseman's character, Stormin' Norman Earl Holloway. Along the way, they grapple with their past, present, and future as they try to do right by their fallen comrade.

Boseman's role is small yet pivotal. Ultimately, nobody could explain why he was chosen for this vital part better than Lee himself. As Lee told writer David Sims of The Atlantic ahead of the film's 2020 release: "This character is heroic; he's a superhero. Who do we cast? We cast Jackie Robinson, James Brown, Thurgood Marshall, and we cast T'Challa. Chad is a superhero! That character is Christlike! Notice the way [cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel] shot him. There's light from heaven coming down from above on him." Watching the film back now knowing what Boseman was dealing with in his personal life is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes. His performance is mesmerizing, and "Da 5 Bloods" also contains one of Chadwick Boseman's most iconic scenes.

Chadwick Boseman's final performance came in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," a 2020 film based on the 1982 play of the same name by famed Black playwright August Wilson. The story of a single day in a Chicago recording studio with famed artist Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) and her trumpeter Levee Green (Boseman), "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" has a near-perfect score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, which lauded the two co-stars for their "powerhouse performances."

While Davis' character's name is in the title of the film, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is more about Boseman's Green and his ambitions to make it as an artist in his own right. The late actor came in for particular praise for his nuanced turn as Green: "Boseman plays Levee with an electricity that feels urgent," wrote Alissa Wilkinson for Vox, while others noted that it's bittersweet to watch the movie back now. "It's especially sad to watch Boseman tearing up the screen as the hot-headed Levee," said Paul Byrnes of the Sydney Morning Herald, adding, "His work here shows depth and power." In fact, some critics believe that this is his finest performance. "Chadwick Boseman's final movie is his best," wrote Chris Hewitt of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Click here to find out where "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" ranks on our list of Boseman's most watchable movies.