People cheered when Black Panther first appeared in Captain America: Civil War, and if it wasn’t for my rigid ideas on theater etiquette, I would’ve been yelling right along with them. I was hyped for Chadwick Boseman to be recognized as the movie star he is (did you see his electric turn in Get On Up?), and let’s be frank, the whiteness of the MCU is beyond glaring.
Black Panther can’t single-handedly correct the latter, but the implications of this film for Boseman, the rest of the cast and crew, the MCU, and the wider diversification of blockbusters makes this the most noteworthy MCU film in some time.
Don’t get me wrong, this still looks like the entertainment first, CGI extravaganza we know and love from Marvel, but almost every position in this film is filled with top talent that could grease the streamlined machine to its optimum level. There’s stars like Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, and Lupita Nyong’o in every frame, director/co-writer Ryan Coogler brings proven talent after Creed, and with him comes a rafted of skilled collaborators like cinematographer Rachel Morrison and composer Ludwig Göransson.
So yes, Black Panther is another MCU film that’s probably going to be very similar rest of the MCU, except that it brings in a raft of people of color and women into the series. It’s making change from the inside, and it’s doing it on one of the biggest stages in modern cinema.
Black Panther is directed by Ryan Coogler and stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, and Lupita Nyong’o. It will be released in the U.K. on February 12th, 2018 and in the U.S. on February 16th, 2018. For international release dates, click here.
Are you excited for Black Panther? Let us know in the comments!
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