Vanity Fair magazine celebrates Chadwick Boseman’s ‘grande finale’ for its ‘Awards Extra’ cover

Chadwick Boseman is gracing the cover of Vanity Fair magazine.

The “Awards Extra” is a special edition of the periodical and it’s just in time for the hotly anticipated Hollywood awards season.

The “Black Panther” star, who died in August at age 43, is expected to receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination when they are unveiled on March 15.

This season, Boseman has already received honors and accolades for his final two live action performances, in George C. Wolfe’s filmed adaptation of the August Wilson play “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and Spike Lee’s Vietnam era drama “Da 5 Bloods.”

The cover story — titled “Inside Chadwick Boseman’s Grand Finale” and written by the magazines Hollywood writer Yohana Desta — highlights the late actor’s epic career and his final role as ambitious and hot-headed horn player Levee in the critically-acclaimed Netflix film, which was produced by co-star Viola Davis and Denzel Washington.

Decked out dapperly in Gucci, Boseman was photographed for the magazine by Art Streiber in Studio City, Calif., in September 2017.

“Chadwick Boseman’s death last summer caught the world by surprise. But throughout his journey from unknown to bona fide movie star, the beloved actor wrapped himself in history and symbolism—and was talented enough to carry the weight of both,” Vanity Fair editors wrote in the Instagram caption, revealing the cover Tuesday. “His artistic manifesto, he declared in a 2019 interview, was simple: ‘How do I break a barrier with this role? What can I bring to the table that’s different?… As an African American artist, and filmmaker, actor, that’s my goal literally every time.’”

A rep for Vanity Fair did not provide any additional details on the special issue.

In his relatively short yet illustrious career, Boseman left a long-lasting legacy after cutting his teeth with Off-Broadway theater and television shows such as “All My Children” and “Lincoln Heights.”

He became a Hollywood cultural torchbearer with his portrayals of trailblazing African American figures, including Jackie Robinson in “42,” James Brown in “Get On Up” and Thurgood Marshall in Reginald Hudlin’s masterful but overlooked 2017 biopic about the groundbreaking Supreme Court justice.

The Howard University-educated, Anderson, South Carolina native became an international figure when he took on the lead role of T’Challa in the Ryan Coogler-directed blockbuster “Black Panther” in 2018.

Ahead of the Oscars, Boseman became the first actor ever to receive four nominations in film categories at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in a single year.

He also received nominations from the Golden Globes, Critics Choice and the NAACP Image awards among other accolades.