Black Panther, not be confused with those BAMF's from the 60's, is a fictional character appearing in publications by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). He is the first black superhero in mainstream American comics, debuting several years before such early African-American superheroes as Marvel Comics' the Falcon, Storm and Luke Cage, and DC Comics' Tyroc, Black Lightning and Green Lantern John Stewart. Black Panther was ranked the 71st greatest comic book character of all time by Wizard magazine. IGN also ranked the Black Panther as the 51st greatest comic book hero stating that Black Panther could be called Marvel's Batman.
(Hail Hydra)
Despite all of that, shoutout to Wikipedia, he still has gotten the short end of the stick. Whether it's due to race, the wrong writers, or the wrong stories; T'Challa hasn't REALLY ever been in the spotlight. You can say he had his moment when his motion comic esque TV show was put on BET. I can tell you that only happened because the writer of the story it adapted, Reginald Hudlin, was (at the time) a head honcho over at Black Entertainment Television (BET). Now he and his mythos have been the basis for the direct to DVD Avengers*cough* excuse me ULTIMATES sequel, but that's how extensive his film representation goes. And he's appeared as a main character on the canceled Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but not much more.
Black Panther is one of, if not, my favorite comic book characters ever!!! I remember the first time I read a story with him he was teaming up with the Fantastic Four and as a 5-7 year old African-American kid I screamed to my mom "MOMMA IT'S A BLACK SUPERHERO". I only wish that could've been the experience I had in the movie theater when I was younger, but I was too young for Blade and Hancock (though now I enjoy both). I hope that young kids will have the pleasure of saying those words when within the next couple years when they see a BLACK PANTHER film. These are 10 things I want to see (in no particular order) and I hope you agree with them all!!! Hit the jump to see my thoughts on the Black Panther!!!
1) Give Us a Character That We've Never Seen Before (from Marvel)
T'Challa is a character like no other. Not only does he have the abilities or Captain America and the training regime of Batman, but he has more money than Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark combined. All of this mixed with him being like the Pope to the people of the nation he rules called Wakanda. Despite his country being small, he has so much responsibility and so many weights dropped on his shoulders. I want to see a character who is visibly struggling through this, but still comes out on top; higher than he was before.
On top of that it'd be very different because this character happens to be native to the continent of Africa. Nope, not a country...YES I'M SURE!!! This not only means that the...color...of the casting will have to be drastically different this time (seeing as the only reasons a number of whites are in Africa are because they conquered African countries and no one ever conquered Wakanda), but this also means that location would be the most exotic and new location of an MCU film that's not INCREDIBLY fictional (i.e. GotG and Thor films).
2) A Director Who Can Deliver
One of, if not, the key to making a film is the Director. This Director takes the work of the screenwriter and brings it to life. Every movie needs a director and Black Panther is no exception. It'd be a challenge to do something like this because nothing like it has EVER been done before. Here is a list of four directors I feel could do an excellent job with this property.
Matt Reeves: While thinking of directors for a Black Panther film for some reason he was the first person to come to mind. This, as you may have guessed, mostly likely is because of his most recent film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. One talent he has is pulling great performances out of his actors and actresses. We've seen that if the right actors are paired up with him (we'll get to that in not too long) he can take their talent and use it to drive the narrative. We even saw the emotion of Andy Serkis, Toby Kebbel, and more show through their monkey suits (literally and metaphorically). Another reason he might've popped in my head might've been because he established the world SO well in DotPotA. The exposition was not extremely heavy (except for the opening news footage sequence which could be excused), but we still didn't leave with any questions. I'd love this to be the case with Wakanda. It's a country that anyone would dream of living in and I think Reeves could show that very well. He is an extremely talented director who not only has shown a great range in style, but more importantly knows how to take a great cast and crew and make something VERY special.
Antoine Fuqua: Fuqua has had his hits and misses, but I feel like he would still be a great choice for a BP film. One thing Fuqua is known for is filming on location. Whether it's Training Day or King Arthur, Fuqua likes to shoot in places where the events of his films take place or as close as he can get. I think this aspect of his directing style could come in handy when it comes to a Black Panther movie. Though Wakanda is a very fictional place, I'd love for him to make it feel as real as possible without taking away ANY of it's magic. For Wakanda to actually be filmed in Africa would make it so much more tangible and could possibly make the audience believe even more in this fantastic world. Once again Fuqua is a great director who I think could really bring a lot to the table.
Steve McQueen: Steve McQueen is an awesome director. He was behind the helm of Best Picture winner 12 Years A Slave (my favorite movie of 2013). Steve McQueen could bring us another TDK. What I mean by that is The Dark Knight was not only a great Comic Book Film, but it was a great Film alone. If ANY CBM got an Oscar for best picture I'd be upset if it wasn't TDK. He has a great sense of time and the use of silence to build affect. In 12 Years a Slave there were moments where there was nothing, but an ongoing shot of someone sitting. No noise, but birds chirping and grasshoppers...doing whatever they do, and yet it was so powerful and emotional and you knew exactly what they were thinking without any sound coming from them or any over the top facial expression. I'd love to see him take on a CBM liked he did 12 Years A Slave. He clearly can adapt stories in to film considering his Oscar Winning film was based off the slave narrative of the real Solomon Northup. The only obstacle with him is getting him to do the movie.
Neil Blomkamp: Neil Blomkamp is a great director and the only African on this list. He is a fantastic Director and you have to recognize his creative genius. He is a master at creating worlds and I think he'd do AWESOME with this movie. Yes in most of his films he has shown us povertous post apocalyptic worlds, but has shown us his version of a Utopia in Elysium. I want Wakanda to be TOTALLY different than Elysium, but I think a creative mind like his could make it cool and interesting. He also has a great style that I'd love to see on a CBM.
3) Django Type Soundtrack / Something We've Never HEARD Before
I was in a bookstore the other day and I went up to the cash register with Gone Girl and the Django Unchained: Graphic Novelization. The lady at the cash register looked down at my books and BEFORE commenting on how great Gone Girl is, she says "I was just listening to the soundtrack the other day" I respond saying that I love the soundtrack and go in to a conversation about how great it is. It is a mix of Genres, singers, and yet all sound perfect while staring at a gif of Django cocking a gun and talking to a motha[DUCK]ing white boy he's about to [DUCK] up.
Now I'm not saying I want (all) of the music on the soundtrack to sound/feel like the ones on the Django soundtrack, but the idea of it is great. Other examples of great (recent) soundtracks are The Great Gatsby, Every Quentin Tarantino Movie, Divergent (unexpectedly), and Guardians of the Galaxy. These movies are packed with hits made for the movie and/or collected and placed in the movie. I think BP's soundtrack should be no short of BADASS like him. Not only should my favorite genre be included (Hip-Hop/Rap), but other types as well. I wouldn't mind Rock, Pop, some EDM, RnB, old school Funk, even Reggae and some others. I honestly don't care, as long as the music all fits in to the tone of the film.
On the standard theatrical, classical, composing side of things; I'd love to see African instruments and Rhythms to be included and mixed in with standard "European" instruments that you usually find in the soundtrack of a movie. I'd love to see a composer/artist mix a la TASM 2. For example (just throwing stuff out there) Michael Giacchino/Kanye West (for some reason that'd be really cool to me). Hans Zimmer/RZA. IDK they just came to me...
The Perfect Theme Song
4) The Actor That Has To Go To 106 & Park to Promote This
It seems like people talk more about the cast of a Black Panther film more than they do the character on the Internet. That is understandable, because it is a big role. Above are my 4 top choices to play the King himself.
Chiwetel Ejiofor: Chiwetel is a GREAT actor! His performance in 12 Years a Slave was phenomenal and was one of the best of last year. I could definitely see him playing an older wiser T'Challa that is well in to his reign as King.
Chadwick Boseman: Chadwick Boseman has been rumored for this role for a little over a year now and I think he deserves to be. Boseman is a great actor. I've only seen him in one role, but in that one role it convinced me that he would be great in the role!!! He has the presence about him and can pass of as a younger T'Challa or an older one who is a couple years in to or recently started his time as the Black Panther.
John Boyega: I'd love to see John Boyega in the role. He's a great actor and I think that a younger Black Panther would be a wonderful treat to have in the films. He's shown he could play a leader in Attack the Block, and he has played a student (figuratively) in Half of a Yellow Sun (with Chiwetel Ejiofor). I could totally see him as a young, brave, slightly brash, inexperienced, smart, and skilled T'Challa. He'd about about 25 or 26 when this film would come out and I see this as the perfect age for a T'Challa that is just rising to power. I'd also love to see his dynamic with the older Avengers. How cool would it be to have an argument between T'Challa and Tony that T'Challa wins!!! Tony would get schooled by someone 20 years younger than him that is also potentially just as smart as him and has more money. That'd be so awesome!!!!
David Oyelowo: He would play the same version of T'Challa Chiwetel would play. He'd be an older more experienced leader. We've always seen David play the same kind of roles and I'd love to see him play something different. I think Oyelowo is a fantastic actor who could bring a lot to the role of the Black Panther.
5) The Costume
I think the costume is one of the integral parts of this film. It in reality isn't a HUGE thing, but getting it wrong could make the movie fail miserably. T'Challa's costume has not changed immensely since his creation, but it has gone through subtle changes that work and don't work. One comparison a lot of people who don't truly know who T'Challa is bring up is that he's a Batman rip-off. I say he's not any more than Iron Man or Green Arrow are and if he is...so what? They both have differences and are NOT the same character.
People say "NON-COMIC BOOK FANS WILL THINK IT'S BATMAN BECAUSE HE'S ALL BLACK AND HAS POINTY EARS!!!" I for one think we don't give them all enough credit and two do think that Batman comparisons would be brought up. That's why I think the suit should capitalize on the tribal and cultural aspects of the suit. An all black leather suit with two eye holes and pointy ears at the top would NOT be something I'd want to see. Splashes of gold and grey would be nice and a tribal essence would be great too. I'd love for him to have his tooth necklace. Though it could be considered "stereotypical" I think it adds so much to the character and the costume.
The suit to the left is a redesign of a redesign. I made the 2nd redesign (which you can see to the left) which is a subtle change to the original design which can be found by clicking the picture. The main difference is that his whole face is covered in black/gray instead of just his head. Also his sleeves and legs are darkened. The pointed back ears help to differentiate against Batman as well as the lightness of the outfit.
Another concept that should be explored is the fact that this isn't his super hero costume. Iron Man made his suit for kicking ass, Cap was given his suit for hope and inspiration, Thor's suit is his normal attire/armor, Black Widow and Hawkeye have/had suits for certain missions, Hulk's pants can stretch. Black Panther has many different suits which have many different purposes. One for field combat (the pictured above), one for stealth missions, one for religious ceremonies, on for other ceremonies, and even more. I'd love them to play up the fact that this isn't just a costume, but a uniform.
The suit would look like Tribal garments on the outside, but would be just as advanced as Iron Man's armor on the inside. His visors would contain special enhancements such as night vision, heat sensors, radar, and the ears would have sonar capabilities as well. His claws would be retractable and made of Vibranium and the entire suit would have a Vibranium Mesh. What makes this unique is that bullets wouldn't fly off of the suit, though it is bullet proof. Vibranium is a metal that absorbs vibrations, therefore the bullet would hit the Black Panther and drop to the ground. I think this would provide for some cool effects and visuals we've never seen before.
6) WAKANDA: BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD
Wakanda should feel like a place anyone would want to live (unless you were a skinhead or something). If we were to rank it on the scale of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd world country, assuming the lower the number the better, it'd be a -1st world country. It is everything Western civilization wants to be, yet isn't. From cancer being as minor as influenza is to us now, too being at all time peace and having an unlimited supply of energy. Wakanda is the place to be.
"Wakanda has always appeared visually underwhelming and two-dimensional; picture an anachronistic cityscape of chrome apartment buildings and thatched roofed huts with mud walls. Feige’s team will have to bring in someone, like District 9 & Elysium director Neill Blomkamp, to start from scratch and visually reimagine the rich physical representation of Wakanda." - Maxi Kim
This is one big reason Blomkamp was one of my choices. Wakanda has always seemed like the stereotypical utopia, with some "African" designs on everything (like the picture above), I feel like this would be boring and make the place seem over the top and very fictional. I think the right word to describe what I'd want to see his hyper-realistic. Here are 3 things that I need to see in Wakanda (that also wouldn't hurt to be adapted in the comics as well).
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Make It Something We Haven't Seen Before: I ultimately want to see something new and different. We've seen so many futuristic cities before. I don't think it should go full Minority Report on us, but it should still feel like something we have to stretch our hands out and reach for. I think one big thing is still making it have a tribal feel. I'd love their to be outdoor markets, but make it a market with a holographic keyboard and screen for the cash register and a retina scanner to get access to the money inside of it. I'd love for it to feel very open and free like that of a real tribe. It'd be a very unified country.
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Blend It In With It's Surroundings: I think one way to successfully achieve #1 is by embracing the African side of it. I'd love for their Nation to be built around nature, instead of nature being manipulated around it. This image and this image both represent what I want to see. It's not just beautiful because of the architecture, but also because of the nature as well.
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Start From Scratch / Don't Base It Off Of Anything: I think taking inspiration from other utopia's and versions of Wakanda in the comics is fine, but inspiration and basing something off of another are two different things. This plays in more with the 1st one. I think they should build from the ground up instead of taking something from the comics and adapting that too the screen with a few changes.
We would want Wakanda to be relatable though. There would still be crime, and their (much more prosperous) version of poverty. It'd be grounded to the point where we could see a society actually become like this one day, but not so out there that no one would believe it.
The Great Mound would be in the center of Wakanda and would be surrounded by Central Wakanda (the capital city). It would be in a huge crater that is taller than it is wide. Imagine in the heart of the jungle you come to a cliff that goes miles around in a circle. You look down and there's a huge mound of silver metal. The Wakandan society is built around this mound from the formation of multiple tribes in the area.
7) Azzari the Wise, T'Chaka the Great, S'Yan the Swift, T'Challa the Leader
Now I wouldn't actually want T'Challa to go down in history as "T'Challa the Leader". That sounds horrible, but I WOULD want T'Challa to be a true leader. He is the king of a nation and that is a quality you have to have. No strike that, T'Challa doesn't need to be a leader. He needs to be a GOOD leader. Like I said earlier he has such a huge responsibility on his hands. He not only is the ruler of a nation, politically and religiously, but also is in possession of the most valuable sciences and substance on the planet. Everyone who knows of it wants it and some will do ANYTHING to get their hands on it.
He also holds the cure to all known cancers, has a HUGE oil deposit under his feet and doesn't even need to use it, has technology that's not available nowhere else in the world, and is incredibly rich. This bad guy heaven, but fortunately T'Challa isn't a bad guy. T'Challa should be able to handle all of this WELL. You might argue that this would make him even less relatable and would make him seem boring, but I argue that it wouldn't. The thing we as an audience would latch on to is HOW T'Challa manages his responsibilities, not what responsibilities he has. We'd see him struggle, we'd see him fail, but we'd also see him do things with ease and succeed in the end. He's not perfect, so why make him perfect?
T'Challa is also a born leader. He thinks fast and is a very good strategist. Remember the scene from Avengers where Captain America gives the policemen orders? How awesome would it be if in Avengers 3, Cap does the same thing (to someone(s) else) and Black Panther runs up and gives them different orders, in the process pointing out the flaws with Cap's plan? VERY awesome.
8) One Of Three Plots They Can Go With
Earlier, in the casting portion of the article, I mentioned the 3 different versions of T'Challa they can go with depending on who they cast (though in reality they'd cats based on which version they chose). I have three different versions of the story. We're going to name them based on the actors that would ideally portray the T'Challa in each one. Let's get started.
The Boyega Plot: This movie would deal with a T'Challa, who is amidst studying across the world, that is rapidly given MANY responsibilities when his uncle S'Yan's throne is taken away from him. Not only does Wakanda go through many changes, but it tries to go to war with the United States!!! Can T'Challa take back his kingdom and stop the HYDRA controlled U.S. from taking over the now HYDRA controlled Wakanda?
The Boseman Plot: T'Challa is the new ruler of Wakanda!!! After battling his Uncle for it (in a friendly manner) and winning, T'Challa is now the Black Panther!!!! Everything seems to be running smoothly til The (HYDRA CONTROLLED) United States of America declares war against Wakanda. What will Black Panther do when he's not only attacked by the U.S., but the countries surrounding his own?
The Ejiofor/Oyelowo Plot: T'Challa has been Wakanda for a couple of years. When he first started, he was obsessed with finding his father's killer. He's since given up on the project, but what will he do when he gets a new lead. What is that lead? His father coming to take over Wakanda himself!!!!!
All three would have HYDRA involved somewhat, the first two more than the last. In the 3rd, the only HYDRA connection is Klaw being a former HYDRA assassin. Klaw would appear as the main villain in all of them, but would be the most prevalent in the 3rd. If you have any questions on the plots as a whole or one of the individual ones just ask it in the comments.
Thank you SO much for reading my thoughts on BLACK PANTHER movie! If you liked it, comment. If you hated it, comment. If you loved it, comment. No matter what, just comment and let me know you stopped by. Click the big red glove with it's thumb up if you liked this article....or if you didn't.....and thanks again for checking this out. Until next time....