Black Panther Writer on Killmonger's Motivation and Political Themes of the Movie

Black Panther comes to US theaters tomorrow, but everyone who's already seen the movie has been buzzing about it on social media. One of the most praised performances in the film is that of Michael B. Jordan's Erik Killmonger, and screenwriter Joe Robert Cole talks about the political themes of the film and Killmonger's motivation.

Talking to Screen Crush, Cole explains how the movie tries to explore black identity. He says:

"We started writing it I guess a year and a half ago. There's a dynamic between African Americans and Africans that we wanted to explore and try to figure out how to navigate in a personal way. That was one of the things that our early discussions and throughout, that we were trying to calibrate and figure out within the parameters of the story. So we didn't know per say, that at this moment in time where there's a heightened awareness of some of these things [it] would exist, but I think the issues brought us to want to tackle the kind of, ‘Am I my brother's keeper?' Some of the thematic issues that were approached or dealt with in the movie in terms of race, those things are not new, those things are centuries old. So the moment that we're landing, happens to be a very heightened moment, which I think is awesome."

The trailer have shown that Killmonger is more of an outsider to Wakanda, what with him dressed casually and not having an accent. Critics have been praising the motivation behind the character, and the fact that he brings in something new to the concept of what it is to be a Marvel villain. Cole continues:

"Yeah. I think the best villains are ones that have a strong point of view, a point of view that people can relate to and even agree with. With Killmonger, it's not necessarily the point of view, but how far you take it that crosses over in the territory of villain. He's acting from a place of pain. And by the end of the movie, I think T'Challa ends up at the same place that he does, but acting out of empathy."

If you've been watching Marvel films since Iron Man, you'll know that the MCU has a problem when it comes to writing its villains. But what's cool about Black Panther is, the villain isn't ‘evil' just because, he actually has some reasonable motivation, and by the end, you (and even T'Challa) will see where he's coming from.

Black Panther hits US theaters Feb. 16.

See Also: Marvel Studios President Wants Black Panther Director To Return For Sequel