Chadwick Boseman Inducted Into Disney Legend Hall Of Fame At D23 Expo

Chadwick Boseman is now an official Disney legend. The late "Black Panther" actor was inducted alongside other stars at Friday's Disney Legends Award Ceremony at the 2022 D23 Expo. Chadwick's brother, Derrick Boseman, accepted the award on behalf of his late brother in front of roughly 7,000 Disney fans.

Known for his roles in movies such as, "Black Panther," "Avengers: Infinity War," "Captain America: Civil War," "42" and many others, Chadwick lost his battle to colon cancer in August 2020 at the age of 43. Chadwick's induction came at the end of the two-hour long ceremony held in Anaheim, California. After a montage of career highlights that celebrated the actor's life, his brother took the stage to accept his award.

"When I heard that Disney wanted to honor Chad, the first word that came to mind for me was the word honor," he started his speech. "As I think about my brother and this honor that is being bestowed upon him, first of all, I wish that he was here to receive it. Him not being here has been a point of immense pain for my whole family. But as I think about him, I think about how he honored our parents. How he honored his family. How he honored even his friends, and he made sure that his friends also had good careers. How he honored all the contracts that he signed, except for the last one, but he honored them with his blood, his sweat, his tears, as he played these roles and he was taking chemo at the same time.”

His speech continued, "Chad was an amazing person. Him being honored today is no surprise to me because he spent his life, from childhood until today, always being recognized and receiving honors. He honored his widow. He was so strong that even in his last days, six days before he died, he honored the promise that he made to her and he married her."

Derrick said that life imitates art, and he sees that happening with his brother's legacy. He also said his mother was supposed to be the one on stage giving the speech, but she handed that job over to him. “Plato is credited with coining the phrase that ‘art imitates life,'" he said. "But Oscar Wilde came behind him and said, ‘Life imitates art.’ And in Chad’s case, it seems that life is imitating art. If we pay attention in this thing called storytelling, a story is being told to us all."

He closed with, "Thank you for honoring my brother. And I want to say, Chad, we’ll always love you. And mom and dad will always love you. My mom was supposed to give this speech but she gave it to me. And to me, mom and daddy are also legends. Because it takes a king and a queen to create a king.”

Other performers honored during the ceremony included Anthony Anderson, Kristn Bell, Patrick Dempsey, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff, Idina Menzel, Ellen Pompeo, and Tracee Ellis Ross. Also honored was music producer Chris Montan, lawyer Robert Price "Bob" Foster, Imagineers Rob't Coltrin and Doris Hardoon, and producer Don Hahn.

The Disney Legends Award is a 35-year tradition and is given to an individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to the Disney legacy. Chadwick was recognized for his role as King T'Challa in the 2018 Marvel film "Black Panther." The movie earned a best picture nomination at the Academy Awards and brought in more than $1.3 billion worldwide.