Black Panther: Chadwick Boseman Almost Broke Andy Serkis' Ribs on Set

Screen Rant

By Michael Kennedy

Published Dec 23, 2018

Black Panther co-star Andy Serkis recalls an on-set incident in which lead Chadwick Boseman almost accidentally broke his ribs during an action scene.

Black Panther co-star Andy Serkis recalls an on-set incident in which lead Chadwick Boseman almost accidentally broke his ribs during an action scene. While the actors in superhero films take part in the filming of many crazy scenes, for the most part, they're rarely in any real danger. After all, movies are designed to simulate death-defying circumstances, not actually inflict them on the cast and crew. Unfortunately though, when filming action scenes, sometimes things go wrong, leading to painful results.

While it wasn't one of the largest roles in the film, Serkis drew praise for his work in Black Panther as Ulysses Klaue, an international arms dealer most famous for ripping off a large amount of Vibranium from Wakanda. Klaue had previously appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and ended up engaging in an unpleasant business transaction with the titular A.I. villain. Unfortunately, in a move many fans disagreed with, Klaue was killed off in Black Panther, as part of Killmonger's gambit to try and take the Wakandan throne.

Prior to Klaue's surprising demise in Black Panther though, the wanted gangster was involved in a long, thrilling chase scene through the streets of Busan, South Korea. The chase results in Klaue's temporary capture by CIA agent Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), but before the resulting interrogation, Serkis tells PeopleTV's Couch Surfing (via EW) that Boseman inadvertently hurt him during the part where a furious T'Challa apprehends Klaue outside of his damaged vehicle.

"This chase ends up with T’Challa, Chad’s character… chasing me and catching me,” Serkis said. “It was a night shoot and the very first take he kneed me so hard in the chest, ’cause he couldn’t really see with his mask on. I felt like he had broken my ribs in the very first take."

As if that wasn't bad enough, Serkis also says that he had just flown to Black Panther's Atlanta set prior to filming the scene in question, and was suffering from severe jetlag. The scene required about 30 takes before they got it right, although it would appear none of the other attempts left Serkis feeling like his ribs had been broken, thankfully. One doubts he has any regrets at the end of the day though, as the Busan chase was one of the coolest segments of director Ryan Coogler's film, and provided Klaue some of his best moments.

Given the fact that he's dead, it seems unlikely Serkis' Ulysses Klaue will appear in any further MCU installments. That said, it's not entirely impossible, as the MCU's non-linear timeline could make it possible to see Klaue in flashback, or during a story set prior to Black Panther. Even if he doesn't turn up in future Marvel Studios movies, Serkis' plate remains full, as he recently directed his first feature film, Netflix's Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.