‘Black Panther’ Plot Details Revealed, Chadwick Boseman Wants To Avoid Stereotypes

Warning: Mild spoilers for Black Panther up ahead.

Marvel’s Black Panther got some shine at last weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con when the cast and director of the film came out on stage to greet all of the hardcore Marvel fans. Up until then, we didn’t know who Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o would be playing, but their characters were revealed by director Ryan Coogler.

Jordan is going to be playing the villain Erik Killmonger, and he was rumored to be playing the villain when his casting was first announced. Nyong’o has been cast as Nakia, a member of the Dora Milaje – T’Challa/Black Panther’s female bodyguards. In addition, The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira has been cast as Okoye, the leader of the Dora Milaje.

#BlackPanther cast, looking good! pic.twitter.com/NQQ2guPNBX

— TV One (@tvonetv) July 24, 2016

Now it looks like a few plot details for Black Panther have surfaced via Lupita Nyong’o. During an interview, the Star Wars: The Force Awakens actress revealed what Black Panther/T’Challa may be up against in the movie.

“The story of this Black Panther is — what am I allowed to say? The story is that the Black Panther’s leadership is really threatened by two foes who come together, and so Black Panther gets the help of the C.I.A. and the Dora Milaje to try and defeat the enemy.”

One of the villains we already know of is Erik Killmonger. He was born as N’Jadaka in the nation of Wakanda, who was exiled by T’Challa. Living in Harlem, he changed his name to Erik Killmonger, studied at MIT, and found his way back to Wakanda seeking revenge.

The second foe may be Ulysses Klaw, who was played by Andy Serkis in Avengers: Age of Ultron. He was the only actor who was not on stage for Black Panther, though it hasn’t been officially confirmed that he is part of the film. It’s hard to imagine that he won’t be, considering that his character has already been introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

So it’s possible that we could see Michael B. Jordan and Andy Serkis working to take down Chadwick Boseman. As far as the C.I.A., this could mean we’ll be seeing Martin Freeman return as Everett K. Ross, who first appeared in Captain America: Civil War. Ross may be involved in helping T’Challa protect Wakanda and his title as King.

Cast and new logo for Marvel's "@theblackpanther" just revealed at #MarvelSDCC! https://t.co/KlRFgZiiyL pic.twitter.com/AHDTYX0uI3

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) July 24, 2016

Black Panther is Marvel’s first Black superhero, and this is something that Chadwick Boseman is very aware of. Speaking with io9, the actor talked a little bit about people’s expectations and not falling into stereotypes.

“Obviously, I know how important it is, particularly for people of African descent,” Boseman said. “In terms of seeing everybody’s response to it, all types of people have responded to me since Civil War came out. [Black Panther] is there for his own purpose…usually what happens is ‘well, he did this in this scene and now he’s doing [something else contradictory] and that doesn’t even fit the character.'”

T’Challa is one of the few characters in Civil War who has an arc. This was a nice way to serve as somewhat of an origin story for the character, and it was something everybody involved wanted.

“I think we were very cognizant about making a character that had his own through-line, his own intent and he wasn’t going to waver for anybody else’s story,” Boseman continued. “Anytime that I felt like that was about to happen, I’d be like ‘nah, this is what he wants. You can do whatever you wanna do but this is what I feel like he needs to be doing.’ I feel like that’s the key.”

Fans can most definitely expect some Blank Panther footage, or even a trailer, at next year’s San Diego Comic-Con. The release date for the film has also changed, moving from February to the summer of 2018.

Black Panther will hit theaters July 6, 2018.

[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney]