Hello fellow CBM users, I'm back again. I've had a lingering thought on my mind the past few days about the Black Panther solo movie and I decided to make an editorial. Before I even get started I just wanna make clear this article isn't meant to be a rant, I just have this opinion I'm gonna lay down and am curious to know what you guys think.
Basically, I have a few reasons why I feel the BP solo should have definitely been a Phase 2 movie. For one, it would've certainly been quite easier to bring T'Challa into Civil War, had he and Wakanda already been introduced.
I mean, it's just very peculiar to me how T'Challa may be involved in the conflict of Cap 3 given the circumstances. We're gonna see him fighting, BEFORE we've even seen Wakanda? Wakanda is an isolationist nation that won't hesistate to BEHEAD trespassers if they choose to. Will we witness T'Challa outside of Wakanda before it's introduced? Because that's very off to be honest. It's an isolated nation with an isolation-minded ruler and people, they don't really have a reason to deal with any foreigners because they don't care to. I know about the rumor of him hunting down Bucky...but I don't know about that either. I don't see a reason for him to hunt down Winter Soldier although I will say, my gut instinct tells me given the situation that'd be the best way out of all to include him in the story. But let's say they do give us some Wakanda in Cap 3, even if just a tease or cameo of the nation....to me that shouldn't come in a Captain America movie, esepcially since it's the very first time we're seeing it. And definitely not in a movie based on Marvel's Civil War event. Wakanda is such a huge concept and setting, a good amount of the focus of the script would have to be temporarily placed on that aspect just to involve T'Challa (assuming they would show Wakanda).
So if he had already had his solo in Phase 2, the isolationism would've been established. Fans would see the glory of the nation that is Wakanda, how powerful, inpenetrable it is, etc. THEN he meets Cap, whether that be in a mid/end credits for the BP movie itself, AOU, or at the very beginning of Civil War it doesn't matter. Then he becomes an Avenger like he did in the comics, then he's a puzzle piece to the Civil War story. Personally I'm just of the mindset giving characters their own movie before merging them into the ensembles is undoubtedly more efficient and the better formula. It allows part of their story to have already been told, their world has been presented, we know a lot about the character, etc. That's a big part of the beauty of what will be Civil War next year. We'll be watching a major conflict between characters we've seen develop over the course of several movies. Black Panther should've been more cemented in that regard. Instead, we have T'Challa's first appearance in a Captain America movie, with Hydra villains, the Civil War storyline (we haven't even seen Wakanda yet) and his debut solo doesn't come until 2018. It was SUPPOSED to be 2017 (don't even get me started on those damn Spider-Man pushbacks lol) but yeah, no Panther until 2018. That's long overdue is you ask me, especially for such a strong black lead, which me always need more of.
TWO SPOTS PHASE 2 BLACK PANTHER SOLO COULD'VE WENT
#1 : 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy Slot
Why Guardians? Look, I'm not one bit upset with what we ended up getting, because I liked GOTG a whole lot. But speaking from the perspective of BEFORE guardians was green-lit...this should've been there instead. I mean why did they go with such an obscure property over an essential and opportunistic character like Black Panther? Who is actually an Avenger, not to mention he would've added diversity at an earlier time, something Marvel has gotten light criticism for. Overall, I just feel Black Panther is more important.
#2 : 2015's Ant-Man
Normally, I'd be flat out outraged by the fact that freakin Ant-Man is coming before T'Challa, like seriously. But I actually in a sense understand why it is. Ant-Man was a project that was really supposed to be a phase ONE movie. Edgar Wright was working on that as far back as 2006? And Ant-Man (Pym) is an original Avenger...so THAT movie coming before king Wakanda is more reasonable. BUT, that being said...after Edgar Wright left, they really should've pushed the movie to Phase 3, and even before then...they should've postponed it to later plans. Ant-Man was delayed so many times that you could honestly make the case it should've been scrapped. They blew the opportunity for Wasp and Ant-Man in the Avengers long ago. And in this period that they realized Ant-man wasn't gonna release when they wanted to, Black Panther should have got the go-ahead. And this summer 2015 date would've been damn near perfect, last movie in Phase 2 RIGHT before Civil War too. You can't ask for much better than that.
Why do you guys ultimately think Marvel waited so long to go with a Black Panther movie? There were actually times when it was rumored one was indeed coming in Phase 2. My view personally is that maybe Marvel was hesistant to do a black lead because of the black enpowerment, potential racial concepts (especially if they hire Ava lol) that might be included in a BP film. I don't know that's just how I see it. Anyway, let me know you feel below.
Do you agree?