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First images from Chadwick Boseman's last film shared by Netflix

Chadwick Boseman in a still from Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. (Netflix)
Chadwick Boseman in a still from Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. (Netflix)

Netflix has shared the first look at Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the final film role of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman.

Boseman died in August at the age of 43 following a private four-year battle with colon cancer.

His death stunned Hollywood and led to an outpouring of grief and tributes from across the entertainment industry.

Boseman’s last big-screen appearance will show him starring alongside Oscar-winner Viola Davis.

It is based on August Wilson’s award-winning 1982 play of the same name and explores racial tensions in 1920s Chicago.

Watch: Sienna Miller reveals touching Chadwick Boseman story

Davis plays influential blues artist Ma Rainey while Boseman appears as her ambitious trumpeter Levee. She paid tribute to her co-star on Instagram after news of his passing broke saying: “Your talent, your spirit, your heart, your authenticity........It was an honor working beside you, getting to know you....Rest well prince”.

George C Wolfe is directing the film. Netflix has shared the first stills from the movie, including Davis as Rainey and Boseman as Levee.

Read more: Everything coming to Netflix in October

Denzel Washington will serve as a producer on the film.

Photo by: Galaxy/STAR MAX/IPx 2020 8/29/20 Chadwick Boseman, star of 'The Black Panther', has passed away at 43 of Colon Cancer. STAR MAX File Photo: 3/4/18 Chadwick Boseman at the 90th Annual Academy Awards (Oscars) presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (Hollywood, CA, USA)
Chadwick Boseman at the 90th Annual Academy Awards. (Galaxy/STAR MAX/IPx 2020 8/29/20)

Washington – who paid for Boseman to study acting in the UK – paid a touching tribute to the star following his death, describing him as a “gentle soul and brilliant artist”.

Boseman revealed in 2018 that Washington paid the fees for an acting course in Oxford almost 20 years earlier.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom launches on Netflix on 18 December.