Lupita Nyong'o had a weight lifted from her shoulders in memorializing late actor Chadwick Boseman in the new horror/sci-fi film A Quiet Place: Day One.
Nyong'o, who plays Samira in the flick, spoke to People about the character having cancer, which Boseman succumbed to in 2020 at age 43. The two starred as King T'Challa, a.k.a. Black Panther, and Nakia in the inaugural movie of the Marvel franchise back in 2018.
In the Michael Sarnoski-directed Quiet Place prequel, Samira comes face-to-face with aliens with a heightened sensitivity to sound, which leads to an apocalypse, all while she's fighting terminal cancer.
Nyong'o confessed to People that it was "scary to have to go there," adding that Samira "is really facing their mortality, even before this apocalypse takes place, and whose life is slipping between her fingers."
"That was daunting to have to go there, psychologically and emotionally," the 41-year-old Oscar winner said.
Ultimately, taking on the role was necessary for her healing process after the unexpected loss of Boseman.
"In the end, it was actually very therapeutic because I had just experienced not too many years ago the death of Chadwick Boseman, which shook me to my core," N'yongo told the outlet about playing Samira. "I definitely was thinking about that a lot."
"What I came to realize is that it's really important to be reminded of our mortality, because then we live life just a little more intentionally," she added. "When we think we have all the time in the world, we can really take people for granted and experiences for granted. So I really enjoyed the presence with which I got to make this film, because of the character and her circumstances."
Nyong'o gave a tribute to Boseman on Instagram in 2020, sharing a picture of him that she'd taken in South Korea.
"Death is hard to understand, maybe even harder to accept. But the love generated from the life he lived will fuel every anniversary marking his absence," she wrote. "Chadwick may no longer be in our photos, but he will always be in our hearts."
Nyong'o reprised her role as Nakia in the Letitia Wright-led Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022 and was instrumental in putting a bow on the story of T'Challa, who passes offscreen before the film opens.
