In recent weeks, theBlack Panthercast has really started to come together. It was announced way back in 2014 thatChadwick Bosemanwill be playing the lead T’Challa in the standalone adventure, with the character first being introduced in this month’sCaptain America: Civil War. This past week has seen two major additions, withStar Wars: The Force AwakensactressLupita Nyong’oin talks to play the love interest andCreedstarMichael B. Jordantaking on a role believed to be the villain. Now comes a report that most of the cast will be made up of African-American or African actors. Which makes sense, since the story will be primarily set in the fictional African city of Wakanda.
In the firstCivil Warpost-credit scene, we got our first glimpse of Wakanda, which is where The Winter Solider is now locked away. And we got to see the giant Black Panther statue that guard’s T’Challa’s place of business. This is the first time an entire nation from the Marvel comic books has been introduced in a tag at the end of a movie, with these sequences usually used to introduce new characters or plot points moving forward in the MCU.
During the latest Empire Film Podcast, Marvel bossKevin Feigedropped by, explaining whyCivil Warwas used to introduce the word ofBlack Panther. He also had some interesting info to share on T’Challa’s solo movie. He explains.
“That will be amongst the best ensembles we’ve ever had. And 90% of the cast is either African or African-American.”
Aside fromMichael B. JordanandLupita Nyong’o, no other cast has been announced at this time, but there are reportedly several other key roles that need to be filled. WhileJordanis being called the ‘villain’, exactly which character he is playing has not yet been divulged.
It is possible thatLupita Nyong’ois playing part of the Dora Milaje, an elite group of female bodyguards who are also potential candidates to become the new queen ofWakanda. Her character hasn’t been officially confirmed at this point, either. One member of the Dora Milaje was revealed inCaptain America: Civil War, which also showed the death of T’challa’s father, T’chaka (John Kani).
During certain scenes ofMarvel’s Civil War, T’challa and T’chaka are seen speaking the Wakandan language, which directorJoe Russorecently revealed is an African language known asXhosa, whichChadwick Bosemanlearned for these scenes. The director also revealed that over 7.6 million people speak this language, but it isn’t known ifLupita Nyong’o, who was raised in Kenya, speaks this language, or if she will be required to learn it for the role.
Ryan Coogler(Creed) is directingBlack Pantherfrom his own script, withJoe Robert Cole(American Crime Story) writing an earlier draft. ProducerKevin Feigerecently revealed thatproductionwill begin in early 2017, while teasing that casting announcements will start to be made this summer. We don’t know how many major characters have yet to be cast, or if a previously-established character with Wakandan ties will return. Last summer’sAvengers: Age of Ultronintroduced fans to Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), although we don’t know for sure if he will be back inBlack Panther. He may be part of the 10% non-African cast.
