Considering Guardians of the Galaxy was announced yesterday as Marvel Studios' second film for 2014, a longer wait will be endured before the King of Wakanda graces the silver screen in Black Panther, as previously rumored. Despite that, actor Aldis Hodge elaborated with TV|Line on how culturally diverse the film would be.
"To me, it would be amazing for Marvel to put that out there," he says, "because think about how many superhero movies we have but how many of [the heroes], from a cultural standpoint, are black?" he continues. "How many African-American kids, or Latin kids, any kids of any other culture or ethnic group, can look at somebody up there and say, ‘Wow, I could be that.’ We don’t have that very often at all."
After TV|Line brought up Blade and Spawn, Hodge responded saying, “But those were years ago. In the comic book world there are a few African-American characters, they just need to explore them,” he asserts. “Marvel would be a champ for being the first one to pioneer that for this generation. I also think of all the kids in Africa, in South America, in Europe, who could say, “That can be me,” he reiterates.
In addition, Hodge admits that the movie ”would just be plain cool, man! I grew up in a Marvel universe, and Black Panther was my connection to make me feel like I could be a superhero. And The Avengers [movie] falls right into it because The Ultimate Avengers 2 [comic book series] is how Black Panther gets introduced, so it would flow naturally. It’d be a smart time to do it,” the actor concludes. For the full interview, where Aldis Hodge further expresses his interest in the role and what deems him fit for the role physically, go to TV|Line.