Chadwick Boseman On Initial BLACK PANTHER Rumors, Solo Movie, Robert Downey Jr. And More
The Black Panther star says he has yet to try on his costume, and also discusses how he fell in love with the character, early rumors of his involvement, his first time meeting Iron Man., and much more!
Despite rumoredly being at the top of Marvel Studios' Black Panther shortlist since mid last year, Chadwick Boseman tells Entertainment Weekly that actual discussions for him to play the Wakandian Prince in Captain America: Civil War (and later in a 2017 standalone movie) did not begin until weeks before the big announcement. "Not even a month," he said. "The real official conversations happened really quickly. I think there were rumors out there, but those were rumors. Maybe that’s a form of conversation, but it wasn’t an actual conversation, if that makes any sense." In a separate interview, he had recalled the first time he learned Marvel was interested. "I think I had the first conversation with the people at Marvel when I was in Zurich, doing the international press tour for Get On Up," he told Indiewire recently. "I was actually going into a screening and I got a phone call [from my agent] that they wanted to talk about it" Back with EW, Boseman then admitted that he wasn't big on Black Panther comics as a kid. "I wasn’t, like, a fanatic," he said. "I definitely read comic books, but this particular character was not someone that I knew very well until the last 10 years or so. I’d heard of him, but I hadn’t really been like I’m a huge Black Panther fan. I think once you get into the film business, though, you start thinking about things that would be really cool to do, and then I fell in love with [the character]. For me, that’s going to be the case for most people who watch it, for most people who see this character emerge inside the Marvel world. And it’s the right time for it, at the end of the day. It’s the right time for the character to emerge and to have his own life, so I’m really, really excited for it. And I just feel it can be done the right way right now."
When EW asked if he had previously auditioned for other comic book movies, Chadwick Boseman replied: "This was really the first... It wasn’t really an audition process. It was more of a discussion about what they wanted to do and how I saw it and what I wanted to do. It was more of a feeling out process and they’re really smart. I can’t talk too much about it—the only thing I can say is that they are smarter than you think they are." He continued, "They have a lot of it figured out. This is the part where I have to be quiet. Because the same way that surprise happened at the El Capitan Theatre, I feel like it all has to happen like that. I just know they’re really good at what they do. And it’s not like, 'Oh, I can make a whole lot of a money playing a superhero, or anything like that.' For me, I’ve always been a person that says I’m not really looking to put on a suit and become a comic-book person. It’s never really been something in my scope, as far as a goal of mine. I’m more the person that says, 'I want to do these really cool independent films with great characters with great directors, or studio films that have critical acclaim.' But I think with Marvel, you have the best of both worlds."
Given Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans helped to introduce Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa aka the Black Panther, the Get On Up actor was asked if that was the first time he had met his future Captain America: Civil War co-stars. "...That was not the first time I had met Robert Downey," he assured. "I met him before we were about to do Jay Leno [in April 2013]. And he’s so cool because he actually came to my dressing room to talk with me. I didn’t even know how to take it; it was so not what you would think he would do. He came and sat down, and we talked for a good 15, 20 minutes, just chatting it up. So when we got to the day with he and Chris Evans—Chris is also like that—it was just sort of a family atmosphere. They just invited me in and both walked me through that process. They seemed like they were reliving their own versions of that [introduction] through me." After joking that he got many congratulatory messages from old girlfriends following his Black Panther announcement, Boseman was finally asked if there is a screenplay for his standalone movie, which is scheduled for release on November 3, 2017. "Honestly, I don’t think so," he replied. "All of that is being come up with right now. How do they say that: My pay grade doesn’t reach that high." Furthermore, Chadwick Boseman also said recently that he has already began working out and that he expects to be in his best phyisical condition by the time Captain America: Civil War starts filming early next year in Atlanta, Georgia. "A lot of strength and flexibility, but I'm not going to say anymore," he told E!Online of his regimen, smiling. "I can't say or reveal their training secrets. How do you know it's not kickin' right now?" Boseman asked. "I might be covering something up." What do you think?
Anyhow, Civil War also stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, and Daniel Brühl, with Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson expected to appear, and is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, and will hit theaters on May 6, 2016.
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