Chadwick Boseman is best known as the buff T’Challa/Black Panther character, but during an April 27 outing near his L.A. home, the Marvel star looked quite unrecognizable. The 42-year-old appeared so thin, the outline of his legs could be seen through his navy sweatpants as he walked with his mom Carolyn, who donned a black face mask. Chadwick covered his face with a scarf, while walking with a cardboard tray with a green smoothie and a cup of coffee in it.
Chadwick also curiously used a wooden walking stick to head on foot to a cafe near his Los Feliz, CA home. Normally people use those primarily while doing strenuous hikes, so it seemed odd for him to have it while strolling around the neighborhood. However, later in the day, Chadwick was seen practicing martial arts with a similar looking sticks while outside. (See photo in gallery)
Fans have been wondering about Chadwick’s extreme weight loss for months now. When he shared an Instagram video while heading to the American Music Awards in Nov. 2019, plenty of folks noticed he looked nothing like the ripped T’Challa they knew from the big screen. User oleshoota commented, “De strength of de pantha’ has been stripped away,” while a_b_h_i__jith._ asked, “What happen bro Your body too….” with sad emoji faces, while also adding “Now you’re too slim build a strong body bro we need that.” Fan badgyaicicii wondered, “r u okay u don’t look healthy,” to which user babydatkay asked, “Is he okay health wise ? He is extremely small.”
Chadwick has not commented on any health issues, but fans have been concerned about his noticeably slimmed down body for five months now. His only on-screen role that he’s in pre-production for in 2020 is a TV sci-fi/fantasy series called The Black Child, which has Halle Berry and Common set to costar. He will definitely need to put weight and muscle back on before 2021 for when filming begins on Black Panther II, which is set for release on May 6, 2022.