Few can argue that one of the biggest highlights of Captain America: Civil War was Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal of T’Challa, AKA Black Panther. The 39-year-old South Carolina native turned in a stellar showing as the Wakandan prince, who quickly graduated to King/superhero, and is now preparing for his first solo film in 2018.
With the release of the first teaser trailer for Black Panther, it’s become increasingly clear that this film is going to be a true game-changer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That being said, here are 5 reasons Black Panther will be unlike any other Marvel movie:
The Release Date
Phase one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe included Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers, all of which were released in either May, June, or July (2008 – 2012). Phase two included Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Ant-Man, which saw releases in April, May, July, August, and November (2013 – 2015). As for phase three, we’ve already seen releases in May of 2016 and 2017 (Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2), as well as November of 2016 (Doctor Strange).
The point is, Marvel Studios has been very formulaic in their release strategy thus far, heavily targeting the summer blockbuster season, as well as late fall, which are the periods where most studios place their tentpole films. Meanwhile, months such as January and February are generally considered to be dump months - periods of the year when there are lowered commercial and critical expectations for most new releases. That being said, does the fact the Black Panther is being released on February 16, 2018 mean that Marvel Studios doesn’t have as much faith in the film as they do in their other properties?
Quite the opposite, actually. Instead, this seems like a strategic move by the studio to bring the first standalone film featuring mainstream comics’ first black superhero to the big screen during Black History Month, paying tribute to a character whose creation in 1966 – the height of the Civil Rights movement – gave readers of color a character they could truly call their own.
The Setting
In Captain America: Civil War, we got a very brief glimpse of Black Panther’s home country, Wakanda, but that was nothing compared to the shots we saw in the new teaser trailer. Now, we have a much better idea of what the MCU’s depiction of the fictional nation will look like on the big screen, and it will perhaps only be rivaled by the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor in terms of memorable settings.
From the roaring waterfalls to the picturesque mountains to the sleek, futuristic buildings, Wakanda looks like nothing we’ve seen before from the MCU, whose films largely take place in urban or rural settings. Yes, Asgard looks stunning and the planets and cosmos from GotG are always a visual spectacle, but the fact that Wakanda exists on the same planet as the majority of our heroes, hidden away from prying eyes, makes the prospect of exploring it further that much more exciting.
The Female Cast Members Will Be Better Served
In the MCU, the roles of prominent female characters are almost always secondary to their roles as love interests (Jane Foster, Pepper Potts, Sharon Carter, Peggy Carter, Christine Palmer, etc.). As for the ones that are lucky enough to be utilized more effectively, such as Black Widow and Gamora, their character arcs are still usually subject to romantic subplots that at times feel forced. Then, of course, you have characters such as Scarlet Witch and Hope Van Dyne, who show plenty of promise but have yet to used to their full potential.
Black Panther, on the other hand, seems to represent a change in the status quo, with female actresses filling a number of significant roles in the film. First off, we have T’Challa’s sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), who can be seen in the teaser trailer sporting a pair of powerful looking panther gauntlets. In the film, Shuri will be depicted as a scientist who designs all of Wakanda’s technology, with a level of brilliance rivaling that of Tony Stark.
Then, of course, we have Okoye (Danai Guirira) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), who will play members of the Dora Milaje – the all-female group of bodyguards assigned to protect the King of Wakanda. And while the caliber of these actresses is enough to turn heads, the teaser trailer seems to indicate that we’ll get to see the entire Dora Milaje utilized prominently in many of the film’s key action sequences, as evidenced by the shot of them squaring off against Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger.
The Political Elements
Several of the MCU’s films have featured heavy political subtext, particularly in the Captain America and Thor movies. However, in Black Panther, it will serve as more of a focal point than we’ve seen in past Marvel productions.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige described Black Panther as “a big geopolitical action adventure that focuses on the family and royal struggle of T'Challa in Wakanda, and what it means to be a king.” Additionally, actor Sterling K. Brown, who’ll play N’Jobu in the film, said that Black Panther “addresses the climate today of Africans and African-Americans — across the country and across the world — in a way that people will really be excited about.”
Brown’s comments are of particular interest when you consider the comparisons being made to the newest Black Panther movie poster and the iconic photo of Huey P. Newton, who co-founded the Black Panther party in 1966.
The Cultural Impact
In the same vein as Sterling K. Brown’s comments, perhaps what sets Black Panther apart from other Marvel films the most is the cultural impact and influence of the titular character. Created in 1966 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Black Panther is the first black superhero in mainstream American comics, predating other African-American icons including The Falcon (1969) and Luke Cage (1972) from the Marvel side, as well as Green Lantern John Stewart (1971) and Black Lightning (1977) over at DC Comics. Even the character’s name predates the Black Panther Party - the revolutionary Black Nationalist and Socialist organization founded the same year as T’Challa’s inception into the Marvel Universe.
For young black men during the Civil Rights movement in the United States, Black Panther represented more than just a fictional hero. T’Challa is a hunter, tracker, politician, inventor, and scientist. With a Ph.D. in Physics from the prestigious Oxford University, Black Panther is considered to be one of the eight smartest characters in the Marvel Universe. This puts him on par with the likes of iconic white characters such as Tony Stark and Reed Richards.
Black Panther is a character that represented hope and optimism in the African-American community at a time when political and social circumstances made it difficult to feel either, and the fact that he’s finally being given his own standalone film represents a major – and long overdue – milestone in pop-culture.