How Chadwick Boseman brought power and purpose to Marvel's 'Black Panther'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Long before he was cast as the first black superhero of the modern Marvel era, and before he brought the Avengers-adjacent King T'Challa of Wakanda to life in his own groundbreaking standalone tentpole, Chadwick Boseman was keeping notes on what a "Black Panther" movie should be.

"I can remember several times writing in my journals, 'That would be a cool thing to see in Black Panther' - ideas from real life, from real history, or real archaeology or architecture," said Boseman, 40, taking in the sunshine on a Beverly Hills hotel terrace in the midst of a frenetic press tour.

"The projects that I end up doing, that I want to be involved with in any way, have always been projects that will be impactful, for the most part, to my people - to black people," said Boseman, a playwright and theater director turned actor and, now, blockbuster movie star. "To see black people in ways which you have not seen them before. So 'Black Panther' was on my radar, and in my dreams."

"Having first come to wide