Wakanda Forever: Houston artist, Imagineer pays tribute to Chadwick Boseman in mural at Disneyland

FILE - In this March 4, 2018 file photo, Chadwick Boseman arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Actor Chadwick Boseman, who played Black icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown before finding fame as the regal Black Panther in the Marvel cinematic universe, has died of cancer. His representative says Boseman died Friday, Aug. 28, 2020 in Los Angeles after a four-year battle with colon cancer. He was 43. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) (Jordan Strauss, 2018 Invision)

Houston native Nikkolas Smith is paying tribute to late actor Chadwick Boseman with a new mural at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.

The mural displayed in the Downtown Disney District pictures Boseman who played T’Challa in Marvel’s “Black Panther” and a children’s hospital patient wearing the hero’s mask, both doing the Wakanda salute.

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“To millions of kids, T’Challa was a legend larger than life, and there was no one more worthy to fill those shoes than Chadwick Boseman,” Smith said. “I’m so thankful to be able to honor Chadwick’s life and purpose in this way.”

The art installation is titled “King Chad" in the late actor’s honor.

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This one is special. My King Chad tribute is now on a wall on display at Downtown Disney. 🐾 It is a full circle moment for me: my final two projects as a Disney Imagineer last summer were working on the Children’s Hospital project and the Avengers Campus. To millions of kids, T'Challa was a legend larger than life, and there was no one more worthy to fill those shoes than Chadwick Boseman. I'm so thankful to be able to honor Chadwick's life and purpose in this way. I am grateful to the Disney family for being so supportive of my journey as an artist. @waltdisneyimagineering @disney @marvelstudios @disneyland 🐾✨ #LongLiveTheKing #KingChad #WakandaForever #Phambili #DowntownDisney #BlackPanther #ChadwickBoseman #RIPChadwick #WDI

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