After taking on such iconic roles as Jackie Robinson in 42 and James Brown in Get On Up , Chadwick Boseman is now stepping into another iconic role, this time as T’Challa, the ruler of the African nation of Wakanda and superhero in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther . Boseman is reportedly signed and sealed into the role and, in addition to the plethora of Marvel Movie news that hit earlier today as reported by the Inquisitr , Black Panther will hit movie houses on November 3, 2017, giving fans of the mega-popular Marvel films time to get familiar with the character.
In the Marvel Comics , T’Challa becomes the ruler of Wakanda after his father, T’Chaka, is killed — and as ruler, he also assumes the identity of Black Panther, a defender of his people. Black Panther uses his nation’s greatest export, Vibranium — the same material that Captain America’s shield is made from — in his claws and his hood resembles a jungle cat. Black Panther first appeared in the Fantastic Four comic book in 1966 and he eventually joined the Avengers, becoming one of the most respected members of the supergroup. T’Challa even married Storm from the X-Men, solidifying the character as a true Marvel powerhouse.
For the cinematic version, The Hollywood Reporter states that T’Challa/Black Panther will first appear in the third Captain America film, now officially subtitled Civil War , which hits theaters on May 6, 2016. It was during the “Civil War” storyline in the comic books where T’Challa married Storm. Seeing as 20th Century Fox owns the film rights to the X-Men and Storm, don’t expect nuptials with the Mutant goddess of storms during the new Cap movie.
Chadwick Boseman is a rising star in Hollywood, and his previous roles as Jackie Robinson and James Brown have shown that Boseman has the acting chops to bring Marvel’s first black superhero to the big screen (with all due respect to Wesley Snipes’ Blade films of the late ’90s-early ’00s, which were not part of the most recent Marvel Studios canon). Boseman took the stage with Robert Downey, Jr. and Chris Evans at the Marvel Event and, according to The Wrap , he is incredibly excited for his new role.
“I’m blessed to be part of this Marvel Universe and I look forward to making magic together.”
Fans have already begun to tweet their approval of the casting, and Marvel has even released concept artwork showing what Black Panther will look like in the new films.
Did you see the Black Panther concept art for the film? Looks SO bada$$. #MarvelEvent #BlackPanther pic.twitter.com/XKTfP2VJ69
— Adri Cowan (@AdriCowan) October 28, 2014
Here’s AMAZING concept art for #BlackPanther ! #MarvelEvent pic.twitter.com/xUC8hLmrSn — Ryan Penagos (@AgentM) October 28, 2014
With a few years still to go before T’Challa and his alter-ego hit the Marvel Universe, Chadwick Boseman should have plenty of time to train for what could be the most physically demanding role of his young career. Boseman has proven that he can become two icons of sports and music history. Black Panther should be a piece of cake.
Are you excited for Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther? What about the rest of the Marvel Studios news? Do you think Marvel Movie fatigue could be on the horizon? Sound off in the comments below.
[Images courtesy of Google]