The Black Panther movie is still being written, but the main cast has been announced, and filming is set to begin in early 2017. With Ryan Coogler at the helm and his fantastic cast of Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan, and Denai Gurira the final product is sure to be high-quality. Yesterday, Boseman shared that he has referenced all of the comic books as inspiration for his preparation for the role of T’Challa, and looks forward to the ancestral strength that his character will bring to the role. However, the man behind the film, Coogler, told Vulture that he is particularly fond of the current Black Panther comic book run, written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, penciled by Brian Stelfreeze, and colored by Laura Martin.
“Oh, I love it, man,” the filmmaker said when I asked him what he thinks of the series. “I mean, he’s my favorite writer right now in the world. Since being turned on to his work, I’m reading everything that he does. His nonfiction work, especially. But what he’s doing with Panther is just incredible. You can really see his background as a poet in some of the dialogue. And what Brian Stelfreeze is doing with the visuals in that book. And some of the questions that it’s asking. It’s just inspiring for [co-screenwriter] Joe Robert Cole and myself.”
“So, it’s influenced the way you think about the character?” I asked. “Absolutely, absolutely,” he replied. “What’s so great about Panther is he’s a superhero who, if you grab him and ask him if he’s a superhero, he’ll tell you, ‘No.’ He sees himself as a politician, as a leader in his country. It just so happens that the country is a warrior-based nation where the leaders have to be warriors, as well, so sometimes he has to go fight. I think starting at that is really so interesting. If you look at that, anything that’s happening in the world right now, or in the world in the past, in the political realm and how people deal with each other, it can be an inspiration.”
It sounds like the Coates run should definitely be on every MCU fan’s reading list! Have you read it? Are you excited about this source material being used as inspiration for the movie? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Vulture via Comic Book Resources
