LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Lupita Nyong'o is honoring her late 'Black Panther' co-star Chadwick Boseman on his 47th birthday.
Nyong'o played Nakia in the 2018 film 'Black Panther' and its 2022 follow-up, 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'.
The Oscar winner posted a vintage polaroid of the actor on Instagram on November 29 in honor of his birthday. Nyong'o captioned the post, "Marking the birthday of a heroic friend. I am blessed that his time on this earth coincided with mine."
The photo was taken during the iconic Marvel film's press tour in Seoul, South Korea, in 2018, alongside director Ryan Coogler and co-star Michael B Jordan.
Boseman unexpectedly died from colon cancer on August 28, 2020, shocking a world mostly unaware of his serious illness.
The actor, renowned for his portrayal as T'Challa in Marvel's first Black-led superhero film, was best known for portraying legendary Black personas on screen, including baseball great Jackie Robinson and funk singer James Brown.
Boseman made his last acting roles in the 2020 films 'Da 5 Bloods' and 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'. The actor received a posthumous Oscar nomination in 2021 for the latter movie, per People.
Lupita Nyong'o's tribute on Chadwick Boseman's death anniversary
For the past three years, Nyong'o has always paid homage to Boseman on the anniversary of his death.
She posted another picture of Boseman in August that she took in 2018 while on the 'Black Panther' press tour in South Korea, stating at the time that she "experienced a singular pain at the news of @chadwickboseman's death."
Nyong'o continued, "The confusion was so profound that it took months to trust the feeling of joy again."
"But the love generated from the life he lived will fuel every anniversary marking his absence. Chadwick may no longer be in our photos, but he will always be in our hearts," she added.
Boseman kept his years-long battle with cancer a secret, even from those he worked with.
Nyong'o described the consequences of Boseman's death as "a punch to my gut every morning" in an Instagram post she released weeks after he died.
The 'Black Panther' cast reunited, including Nyong'o, Coogler, and Jordan, for the 2022 film 'Wakanda Forever'.
According to Entertainment Tonight, Marvel Studios announced they would not recast or artificially recreate T'Challa for the film's sequel after the Howard University alumnus grew close to his co-stars while filming the historic Marvel movie.
Fans get emotional over Lupita Nyong'o's post
Nyong'o's post left fans of the late actor emotional.
One of them wrote in the Instagram comment section, "He wasn't just massively talented. He was genuinely kind and empathetic. As great as his work was, the person was humble. That combination is rare."
"Happy Birthday Chadwick....Death is not the end," added a second fan.
A third wrote, "Never met the man. Only saw him on screen and socials, but he moved me sooo much that it baffles me what an emotional connection can do for a person. He was really a blessed being and will forever love on in our hearts. The original Black Panther."
Others took to X (formerly Twitter) to pay tribute to the legendary 'Black Panther' actor.
One X user wrote, "I so much love Chadwick. Funny how I watched black Panther 2 today, I didn't know today was his birthday, so emotional for me. Rest On Legend."
"How nice of you to remember him," added another.
