'Black Panther': Michael B. Jordan Explains the Direction He's Taking on Killmonger

To prepare for his villainous role in Black Panther, Erik Killmonger actor Michael B. Jordan studied one of the best villain performances in comic book movie history.

"Honestly, as a fan of comic books and graphic novels, like Heath Ledger's performance as far as in a film is concerned as a villain was my generation's.... that was the bar," Jordan said on Sportscenter. "Trying to find that controlled rage. The villains that are the most fun to watch for me are the ones that you can empathize with, you kind of know where they're coming from, you can see their point of view. I tried to bring that groundedness to Killmonger."

Jordan joins a predominantly black cast for Black Panther, a film which brings the first black Marvel or DC super hero to the big screen in a titular role. For Jordan, he feels the biggest honor in being a part of the film is "just being a part of history." He can only imagine what the movie will do for future projects and generations. "This film, the numbers that it could do moving forward and what it can mean for other opportunities in the next generation coming up and how many other studios are gonna try to take a chance at a more diverse, eclectic cast like we have right now," Jordan said.

The Marvel Studios film marks Jordan's third project with director Ryan Coogler. The two previously worked together on Creed and Fruitvale Station and having such a teammate "means the world" to Jordan. "It's pretty exciting," the actor said, looking forward to showing off his "unspoken" bond with the director and their "own language" once again.

The upcoming slate for Marvel Studios includes a slew of films with Black Panther on February 16th. It is followed by Avengers: Infinity War on May 4th and Ant-Man and The Wasp on July 6, 2018. Captain Marvel arrives on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, Spider-Man: Homecoming's sequel on July 6, 2019 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.