The uber talented Chadwick Boseman is our
Black Panther! Ever since the general movie audience became enamored with
Iron Man (2008) and in turn,
Marvel Studios, the comic book faithful have been clamoring for a Black Panther movie. Well, comic book faithful, your wish will be granted on November 3, 2017, Black Panther will be playing on a movie screen near you.
In the years preceeding yesterday's Marvel Event, there have been a number of actors and names rumored for the part of T'Challa but Boseman's name was
first dropped in May 2013 by Latino Review's El Mayimbe. Since then, Boseman has been asked about playing the King of Wakanda on numerous occassions. And in that same month, there was reportedly (and now 'partialy' confirmed) chatter on the
Captain America: The Winter Soldier set that Black Panther, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver would all be appearing in
Avengers: Age of Ultron. News surrounding Boseman and Black Panther then quieted down for a while until Boseman began press for the Kevin Costner football drama,
Draft Day. Said Boseman back in March---
"Let me put to you this way. If it’s character driven, I’ll do it. As long as it’s character driven, I would love to do it. If it’s just you in a suit and you with powers, then it doesn’t interest me, no matter how big it is. As long as it’s character driven, I’m totally into it. If they could figure out how to do Black Panther and make it fit the original or adapt to the times we’re in now and be new and innovative and be character driven and has the sense of what the comic book is supposed to be, but not bound by it, then yes, of course, I would want to do it."
Interestingly enough, Boseman also expressed interest in portraying
Green Lantern in that interview. A month later, still doing press for Draft Day, Boseman was asked again about Black Panther but shied away from going in-depth,
merely stating that Black Panther is just a rumor. Then in August, while promoting the James Brown biopic,
Get On Up, Boseman mentioned contracts,
stating that he could neither confirm or deny Black Panther until a contract was signed---
"I don't know anything about [Black Panther]... Until the contract is signed, I don't know."
And of course, on October 28th, Marvel Studios made it official and Boseman stood between the likes of Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. before a a theater full of Marvel fans that were suddenly whipped into a frenzy. Just how far back did Marvel and Boseman make it official? Apparently, the ink wasn't dry back at SDCC 2014 or the announcement would have been made in July.
TIMELINE
---May 2013: Latino Review first reports that Chadwick Boseman is Marvel's first choice for Black Panther.
---March 2014: On the Draft Day press tour, Boseman gave his most open remarks regarding Black Panther. Marvel Studios usually likes to keep things close-to-the-chest, so it's likely that Boseman and Marvel were not in serious discussions at this point.
---March 2014: Rumors on the Captain America: The Winter Soldier set, claim that Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Black Panther will be in The Avengers 2.
---April 2014: Boseman now give the standard, "It's just a rumor" reply.
---August 2014: Boseman states that he can't say anything regarding Black Panther until a contract is signed.
---October 2014: Marvel officially announces that Boseman is Black Panther.