Will Smith is joining the growing number of celebrities to praise Black Panther on social media.
In an Instagram video (above), Smith congratulated the film's director, Ryan Coogler, and the all-star cast which includes Chadwick Boseman, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira Michael B. Jordan, Letitia Wright, and Daniel Kaluuya on their smash movie.
"What you have done is spectacular," he said of the film that "damn near" brought him to tears. Smith, who starred in his own superhero flick, Hancock, also said that the crew "challenged and potentially even shattered a lot of longtime, long-held false Hollywood beliefs and paradigms" making him "proud, excited, and damn near giddy." Naturally, he ended it with the famous "Wakandan pose" which involves crossing your arms in an "X" across your chest.
His caption—a personal message that the late Nelson Mandela shared with him—was equally as touching.
"With the type of fame that you have attained it is important when you encounter your fans that you—Reach Your Hand Out and let them Feel Your Flesh," he relayed. "You have to prove to them that you are REAL—because people can not aspire to anything they do not believe is Real."
Now, he's gifting the Black Panther team with the same message. "So I say to you, Congratulations! Enjoy this Transcendent Moment," it read. "Go into the streets... Touch them... Let them know that you are real!" We're not crying, you are!
The video comes after forever FLOTUS Michelle Obama took to Twitter to share her love for Black Panther as well. Meanwhile, the superhero saga continues to soar at the U.S. box office, raking in an estimated $242 million during its holiday opening weekend which would puts it in the No. 2 spot after Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248 million), while simultaneously topping every Marvel, Fox and DC film superhero film to date. (However, if you just count the traditional weekend, the film stands at No. 5, right below Marvel's The Avengers.) Not too shabby.
Also, the "Will Smith in Black Panther 2" campaign officially starts now.
