Black Panther looks like it’s going to be one of the most outlandish Marvel movies yet, but with a brand new trailer and a spot in Avengers: Infinity Stone, the buzz is starting to build for the film. It will be set in the fictional nation of Wakanda, the location of the Earth’s vibranium stores thanks to an ancient meteorite strike in the area, so expect things to be very different to the New York city streets we’ve seen in the likes of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Chadwick Boseman will be back as T-Challa/Black Panther, having taken his bow as the character in Captain America: Civil War. You can see him in action for yourself in the trailer below, and it looks like Marvel Studios has put a lot of effort into crafting something that can stand up on its own at the box office.
Release date
Black Panther has a UK release date of February 16th, 2018, coinciding with the film’s arrival at the box office in the US and Canada. It’ll be out in the UK on the same weekend as Australian animation movie Larrikins, Maggie Margot’s Tonya Harding biopic I, Tonya and Guillermo del Toro romantic fantasy thriller The Shape Of Water.
The DVD, Blu-ray and digital download is expected to arrive in June 2018 and it could well be one of the year’s big home entertainment releases.
Story
Following his introduction to the global superhero fight in Captain America: Civil War, in which his father was killed, leaving him with the throne, King T’Challa / Black Panther returns home to Wakanda to lead his people. However, he finds that there is just as much threat from within his own kingdom as there is outside it as a powerful old enemy creeps up out of the woodwork to test his strength as the new king.
Cast
Chadwick Boseman (Avengers: Infinity War) leads the cast as King T’Challa / Black Panther and he’s joined by Lupita Nyong’o (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), Michael B. Jordon (Creed), Martin Freeman (Captain America: Civil War) and Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out). The cast also features Danai Gurira (Avengers: Infinity War), Andy Serkis (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), Forest Whitaker (Rogue One) and Letitia Wright (Ready Player One).
Additional cast members include Angela Bassett (Mission Impossible 6), Winston Duke (Modern Family), Florence Kasumba (Captain America: Civil War), Sterling K. Brown (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot) and John Kani (Captain America: Civil War).
Production
Black Panther is directed by Ryan Coogler (Creed), who also co-wrote the story and screenplay with Joe Robert Cole, continuing on the legacy of the character from creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Kevin Feige (Avengers: Infinity War) is producing, adding yet another big Marvel release to his credits as the President of Marvel Studios. You can see more from the production at the official Facebook page.
First impressions
T’Challa’s debut in Captain America: Civil War was OK, but far from earth shaking, however, the Black Panther trailer looks like there’s going to be much more impact from the character in his first stand-alone film. It’s crammed to the rafters with action, delivers a unique style and features some strong sequences to build anticipation for the film’s release in 2018.
The music is well selected and works very well with the tribal / futurism crossover that sits behind life in the inner circle of Wakanda. It even manages to make us overlook the silly name of the location momentarily as we’re swept up in it all, so hopefully the film will be able to keep that going.
It’s also refreshing to get a dedicated film for a superhero character that isn’t white and accent free, adding to the potential of Aquaman, which has tranformed the character significantly from its comic book origins. It paves the way for more diversity in the leading roles and adds in more heroes that will inspire the next generation, which can only be a good thing.
