The Black Panther is set to make his first appearance as Chadwick Boseman dons the mask in Captain America: Civil War in 2016. As for his standalone film, not much has been known up to this point. This is sensible, given that it’s more than two years away; however, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has provided fans with a bit of information by way of tomorrow’s new issue of Empire.
“This one is important. Not only do you get an unbelievable lead character, but you also get all of Wakanda which is a whole new setting and culture to explore.”
This is at least partially true. Wakanda is technically known to the Avengers and to viewers after the events of Age of Ultron, but moviegoers didn’t really get a chance to explore the land or see its characters. This will change, as Black Panther will focus not only on the titular superhero but also on the ruler who wears the costume. Says Feige:
“It’s a big geo-political action adventure that focuses on the family and royal struggle of T’Challa in Wakanda, and what it means to be a king. T’Challa’s story is very important to us as it links to the next Avengers films, which is why we brought it forward.”
Feige also confirms that the cast of Black Panther will be largely African-American, something that audiences have not really seen from the predominance of superhero films. Not only will Boseman be playing the ruler of a fictional African nation, but there is buzz that Ernie Hudson will be portraying his father, T’Chaka.
The real story here, however, is the fact that Black Panther will feature some sort of direct tie toAvengers: Infinity War. This could be a tease to the appearance of the last Infinity Stone, although to state this as fact would be wild speculation at this point. Either way, it is clear that this film is important to the story of the MCU, since its release date has been shifted forward from July 6, 2018, to February 16 of that same year. This should give fans ample time to build excitement for the film, as well as for its potential impact on the plot of Infinity War.
