Black Panther Is Going To Be Marvel’s Best Movie
By: Connor Lenahan
If you’ve seen Captain America: Civil War you know one of the best things to come out of the film was Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther. The warrior defender of the fictional Wakanda made his first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and generally stole the show in every scene he was in. As others have noted, there is something genuinely interesting about him. He moves unlike everyone else. He has a mystery to him that draws you in. Without spoiling the film, his motivation is even greater than nearly every character. It’s terrific, and he’s majestic in presentation, hilarious at points, and intimidating always.
He’s awesome, and it’s disappointing that we aren’t getting the stand alone Black Panther in the MCU until 2018. That’s not just because Boseman is a suddenly inspired casting decision that turned out to be a grand slam, the remainder of the picture is being set up to be generally Oscar-worthy.
No, seriously, it’s loaded.
For one, the movie will be helmed by Ryan Coogler, director of Fruitvale Station and Creed, who is one of the most exciting filmmakers on the planet today – which goes to say he’s also absurdly talented. Fans of strong storytelling would have already seen Coogler’s next film without adding in the Marvel tag. But the last time we got to theaters we got one of the best films of 2015.
Oh, and just this afternoon it was announced that Coogler’s muse, Michael B. Jordan, will be joining the film in an unannounced role. So you don’t just get a uber-exciting director taking this film on with a red-hot Marvel character, but he gets to play off this generation’s Will Smith/Denzel Washington.
Oh, and Academy Award Winner Lupita Nyong’o is going to be in this film too. Yes, the criminally-underused actress will get to join the most popular film series on the planet in a (hopefully) big role. Nyong’o was lights out in 12 Years a Slave and has somehow not become a huge star as a result. Here’s hoping this is her proper springboard to superstardom, as she belongs as a peer to Jennifer Lawrence and co. as a star and Oscar contender.
So… is it 2018 yet?