Just like the character, Marvel is undoubtedly looking for an African American of the upmost caliber to take this film into a different direction…different world. The difficulty of the pursuit is finding that one individual that won’t screw up. So, who can bring the fictional city of Wakanda to the big screen? Here are a few choices IMO that probably won’t let the fans down.
#5 – F. Gary Gray
Gray is recognized for a few films which are considered classics; including the low-budget hit comedy
Friday. However he is the type of director that heavily relies on the substance of the script which by the look of recent Marvel films, it shouldn’t be a problem. If Marvel gets a great script and few more above the line individuals attached,
Black Panther has the potential to be phenomenal.
I don't have a typical filmmaker background. I didn't grow up with a super eight camera or a video camera. I didn't start cutting movies when I was four or five. I actually didn't really start to get into the research of film until I was much older. I decided I wanted to direct a lot earlier than I started to do the research, which is really strange, but it is the case.
Accredited film: The Negotiator
#4 – Antoine Fuqua
Fuqua is a very skilled director that has some of the best camera work and fast paste editing on screen. He is also known for shooting his films in bona fide locations of the script for a realist appearance. Case in point
Training Day &
Brooklyn’s Finest, were all filmed in real crime-laced neighborhoods for authenticity. If considered, Marvel would have to allow a strong PG-13 rating because of the director’s gritty taste in the action genre. Nonetheless, Fuqua can deliver some hard-boiled intense action sequences in an authentic location for the
Black Panther film.
I like the platform to show your art and everything that goes along with that. To show your voice and hopefully find films that are more politically driven, films that maybe inspire.
Accredited film: Training Day
#3 – Spike Lee
I think that this was an obvious choice especially since Lee is deemed to be the most successful or provocative Black filmmaker in America. Lee is fearless and doesn’t mind to represent blacks in the media as intricate beings. This could be the perfect project for the veteran director if he could shed light on the political drama of the Wakandan government (Julius Caesar style).
Making films has got to be one of the hardest endeavors known to humankind. Straight up and down, film work is hard shit.
Accredited film: Inside Man
#2 – Neill Blomkamp
The acclaimed director is actually from “The Motherland”. With this in mind I believe that Blomkamp has the advantage of delivering the true aesthetics of Africa. Just from judging
District 9 alone, it would be visually stunning for the
Black Panther film to be done in all hand-held and/or documentary style. Nonetheless, I doubt Marvel would allow this to happen (wishful thinking).
The tragedy of Africa is that the African has not fully entered into history … They have never really launched themselves into the future …
Accredited film: District 9
#1- Steve McQueen
The arty filmmaker has been causing quite a stir with his well directed independent films. With only two feature films on his resumé, he is already deemed an extraordinary visual artist. McQueen stole the number one spot for his artistic ability to tap into the human psyche and make a two-hour film about a character’s darkest endeavors. Will the
Black Panther film require such imaginative depictions? Not necessarily but it’s rather important to have a director that understands the fine art of film; McQueen is that guy. If Marvel is looking for a method director, in respect of Kenneth Branagh, and a visionary to unveil the Wakanda nation-Steve McQueen is number one for the job.
I'm about challenging people. Like, properly challenging them and their assumptions. Audiences make their minds up about people they see on screen, just like they do in real life. That's what fascinates me in film. You see a character and have to think: is this person different to what I assumed he was when I first saw him? ... I'm certainly not who people think I am. I always do whatever I want to do and my films are personal to me.
Accredited film: Hunger
With the threat of
Thanos and the expansion of the
Avengers, we can only hope that the Wakandan King is included.