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ABC To Air 'Black Panther' And Chadwick Boseman Special Tribute

The television event will broadcast free of commercials and include a celebration of the late actor's life on Sunday night.

Chadwick Boseman will be getting a prime time tribute befitting a king on Sunday evening (August 30). The actor, who passed away on Friday after a four year battle with colon cancer, will be celebrated in a special way. His death sent the world into shock and grief.

ABC has announced that they will broadcast Black Panther, in which Boseman stars, in its entirety and completely commercial-free, followed by a special tribute to the actor who brought King T'Challa to life on the big screen.

Black Panther was the film Boseman is best-known for, but the celebrated actor played a number of Black historical figures during his decade-long career, including Jackie Robinson in 42, James Brown in Get On Up and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall.

RELATED: Chadwick Boseman And Kobe Bryant’s Last Conversation Is Haunting

Ryan Coogler, director and writer of Black Panther, penned an emotional letter about his late friend on Sunday, revealing just how much influence Boseman had on the film.

"The decision to have Xhosa be the official language of Wakanda was solidified by Chad, a native of South Carolina, because he was able to learn his lines in Xhosa, there on the spot," Coogler wrote. "He also advocated for his character to speak with an African accent, so that he could present T’Challa to audiences as an African king, whose dialect had not been conquered by the West."

He continued, "While filming the movie, we would meet at the office or at my rental home in Atlanta, to discuss lines and different ways to add depth to each scene. We talked costumes, military practices. He said to me 'Wakandans have to dance during the coronations. If they just stand there with spears, what separates them from Romans?' In early drafts of the script. Eric Killmonger’s character would ask T’Challa to be buried in Wakanda. Chad challenged that and asked, what if Killmonger asked to be buried somewhere else?"

ABC's screening of Black Panther and Chadwick Boseman — A Tribute for a King begins Sunday, August 30 at 8pm ET.

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