A ‘Panther’s Prowl’ statue has appeared in Fortnite following the tragic death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman.
Fans of Marvel’s Black Panther were recently rocked by the news of the death of lead actor Chadwick Boseman, who had battled colon cancer since 2016 and passed away at only 43 years of age. Days later, players of Epic Games’ Fortnite have noted the appearance of a massive panther statue towering over the game’s Misty Meadows area.
The statue is the last in a series of Marvel-themed content added to Fortnite, continuing Epic’s use of the game as a platform for cross-promotion and multimedia tie-ins. According to Epic, the addition of the statue to Fortnite‘s landscape had been planned ahead of the actor’s death, and is expected to be followed soon with the addition of a new Black Panther character skin and in-game abilities. The release of Avengers: Endgame saw the addition of a range of Marvel characters, gear, and abilities to Fortnite, a trend that’s expected to continue into the future with other heroes including Captain Marvel and Ant Man.
The nature and timing of the actor’s death has led fans to express their hope that Epic will donate proceeds generated from sales of Black Panther-themed content to an appropriate cancer charity. Within the game, the statue has been the location of some uncharacteristically peaceful – even reverent – interactions between players in the usually chaotic atmosphere of the winner-takes-all shooter.
Donating revenue earned from the addition of Black Panther content to Fortnite would certainly be a tasteful move on Epic’s part, and may earn some valuable good will as the developer moves forward with its legal dispute against Apple. For now, fans are happy with what has been seen as a fitting tribute to King T’Challa, and to a beloved actor.
RIP Chadwick Boseman . #fortnite #RIP #Blackpanther https://t.co/C4cbyTXPrD pic.twitter.com/75Hm1HIfMl
— 𝓜єη𝓓σƵ𝔞 (@FortniteLlama21) September 1, 2020
