While Black Panther was an incredible success for Marvel, earning absurd amounts of money at the box office and becoming a cultural phenomenon. However, every success takes its toll, and for Black Panther's star, Chadwick Boseman, that toll is the "Wakanda Forever" salute.
During the film, characters will frequently salute King T'Challa by doing a pose of their arms crossed in front of their chest. The pose instantly became iconic, and Chadwick has pretty much been forced to hit that pose every single time he's been seen in public. His declining energy in his stance has become somewhat of an internet meme, but in an interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Chadwick explains what's actually going on.
"I thought that was funny," Chadwick said, referring to the memes of him saluting ambivalently. "Cause it's a salute, you know. If I was in the military and I did this every day, I'm not gonna do it the same every time. Sometimes it's more pedestrian. So that person, whoever I was doing it to at that moment caught a casual one. But three minutes before that I probably did one that was like, fully."
He does have reason to be tired of the pose, however, as apparently his fans will stop at nothing in order to salute their King, even going to far as to chase him down the street while he's driving in his car. It seems that Black Panther's success will forever be a curse to Chadwick Boseman.
Check out the interview below.
