Until now, Marvel’s superheroes have traditionally been white males defending America from its super-villains.
Ryan Coogler, the director and co-writter of “Black Panther” the first Marvel movie of its kind.
The Marvel franchise has yet to make a film that has purposely drafted a cast that is all black, let alone have a character that takes charge on a global scale like “Black Panther.”
For many, this is a film they have waited years to see, and for those wondering, yes, Stan Lee will still be seen somewhere in the film.
The comic-book based film features a black male, Chadwick Boseman, as the superhero T’Challa aka Black Panther and main character of the script, a type of film Marvel viewers are not used to.
Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther, along with nearly an all-black cast, highlights the diversity of this film that Hollywood has not yet seen. The film comes out Feb. 16, 2018, purposely placed in Black History Month.
Chadwick Boseman, or the Black Panther has also been in movies highlighting his ethnicity, one being “42,” a Jackie Robinson film.
Just like all Marvel movies, there is a superhero and a villain. The villain, Erik Killmonger, is played by Michael Jordan, an actor that started his acting career in 1999.
Jordan is a seasoned veteran in portraying strong African American leads like Adonis Johnson in the film “Creed.”
The film has a proud Afrocentric twist and focuses not on America, but the fictional nation of Wakanda. Aside from that, “Black Panther” is also not just another superhero movie.
“Black Panther” uses its Marvel platform, a highly successful platform one may add, and its own imaginative Wakanda, to address a comment made by President Trump about “shit-hole countries” retaining to African American populated countries, along with other racial remarks and movements that have sparked since the last presidential campaign.
One may not know everything that is happening around the country at all times, but it seems as though more violence is being televised in direct relationship to certain racial groups and movement.
Coogler, and the rest of the members in the making of “Black Panther,” make a statement that ‘fake’ Wakanda, compared to other real countries, might have thrived if its resources were never stripped from them. This is a comparison they are making to the “shit-hole countries” remark made by President Trump and the people in foreign countries that are underdeveloped.
Coogler also took advantage of Black History Month and pushed back the original date of Jan. 29, 2018, to Feb. 16, 2018 to include the film during the period of time African Americans celebrate their heritage.
Although the release date was pushed back, the film still released a preview viewing to a select group of people on Jan. 29, 2018, it’s original release date.
