In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hell on Wheels and now Inhumans star Anson Mount told reporters about how the mute king of Attilan communicates with other characters in the show.
“I actually have to do more preparation when it comes to scenes in which I sign, and I can’t use American Sign Language,” Anson Mount says. “Because he’s not from Earth, he wouldn’t know American Sign Language, so I’m making my own sign system.” The Hell on Wheels alum also teases that Black Bolt “is a leader who is actually forced to understand not just the strength of his voice, but the potential catastrophe of his voice,” he says. “He literally has to meditate an hour every night before going to bed so he doesn’t talk in his sleep.”
While sign language in comics is not necessarily a new thing (as some fans of recent runs of Matt Fraction's Hawkeye may remember), typically in the comics Black Bolt has used a telepathic communication with his wife, Medusa, as a translator for what he needs. Comic fans will remember the second half of Mount's statement to be directly drawn from the comics themselves, as Black Bolt would meditate to prevent himself from subconciously making any vocal sounds while he was asleep.
“After the Royal Family of Inhumans is splintered by a military coup, they barely escape to Hawaii where their surprising interactions with the lush world and humanity around them may prove to not only save them, but Earth itself.”
Marvel's The Inhumans will premiere worldwide in IMAX theaters September 1st, followed by an 8 episode run on ABC starting September 26th. The show stars Anson Mount as Black Bolt, Serinda Swan as Medusa, Iwan Rheon as Maximus, Isabelle Cornish as Crystal, Eme Ikwuakor as Gorgon, Ken Leung as Karnak, Mike Moh as Triton, and Ellen Woglom as an undisclosed character.