Chadwick Boseman’s Last Film, ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’, Releases First Images

By Bruce Haring

The final film of Chadwick Boseman’s incandescent career has released its first images of the late star.

Director George C. Wolfe’s adaptation of August Wilson’s stage play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom stars Viola Davis in the title role, with Boseman as a band member. The film centers as a recording session in Chicago by the “Mother of the Blues” as the vehicle for larger discussions on race and soceity. The film is scheduled to bow on Netflix on Dec. 18.

The supporting cast includes Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts, with Denzel Washington and Todd Black as producers.

Boseman died in late August from colon cancer. His career resumes includes film homages to music’s James Brown and baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, as well as his star turn as the King of Wakanda in the blockbuster action film Black Panther.