Mumbai, Jan 30 (IANS): Director Ryan Coogler, who has been receiving praises for his superhero movie 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever', recently shared that late actor Chadwick Boseman, who played 'King T'Challa', was an integral part of the film's team as he was the artistic partner in the project.

The director said, "Chad's passing affected filmmakers and the actors in a way that was incredibly profound. Chad was very much our artistic partner in this project, in this franchise and in this storytelling."

He added, "I would spend time with him, just he and I, talking about where we wanted to see the character go, where we wanted to see the story go, how much he admired the other characters and the actors who portrayed them. We realised that it would only be right for us to continue the story."

The director added that Shuri struggles to embrace Wakanda's next chapter and her role as the next Black Panther.

"Ramonda realises that it's been a year since T'Challa's passing and Shuri's still not healing... She's not taking steps to move forward in a healthy way," said Coogler, adding: "They take a retreat -- stepping away from the city, from technology -- to sit with no distractions and perform what is essentially a grief ritual."

'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever', which stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Angela Bassett, Tenoch Huerta, Winston Duke, Dominique Thorne and Danai Gurira, is set to stream on Disney+A Hotstar from February 1 in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.