On Friday night, Marvel Studios revealed the first teaser trailer for the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Black Panther. The movie will put the spotlight on T’Challa, the Black Panther played by Chadwick Boseman who first debuted in the role in Captain America: Civil War in 2016.
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The trailer for Black Panther certainly seems to have gotten fans excited about the movie. The world of Black Panther’s African nation of Wakanda is visually stunning and the plot seems packed with excitement and action.
However, the trailer also raised several questions that fans are sure to be searching for the answer to while they wait for the film’s premiere in 2018. Some of these questions were touched on by director Ryan Coogler and others involved with the making of the film, but even those bear repeating since the answers given tend to lead to still more questions.
Here the five questions we’re asking about Black Panther.
Klaw
Ulysses Klaue, better known simply as Klaw in the Marvel Comics universe, was first introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where he lost one of his arms. We find him in CIA custody in the Black Panther.
There are several questions surrounding Klaw. How did he end in CIA custody? How does he acquire his signature weapon, a weaponized sonic emitter used for mining purposes in Wakanda?
In the comics, Klaw’s powers are more than just his prosthetic arm cannon. Kklaw becomes a being of pure, solid sound. Will he undergo the same transformation into solid sound as his comic book self? Is this hinted at by his statement that he can “see” T’Challa behind the two-way mirror as well as by his haggard, crazed state? Is this part of the reason why Klaw has come to Wakanda in the first place?
Killmonger
The Black Panther trailer offered fans their first look at Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, one of Black Panther’s oldest rivals in the comic books.
In the trailer, Killmonger is seen rescuing Ulysses Klaue from CIA custody, which raises the question “why?” Sure, Killmonger is a rival to Black Panther, but in the Marvel Comics Universe, he hates Klaw at least as much as he does T’Challa.
In the comics, Killmonger’s family was exiled from Wakanda because Klaw and his men forced Killmonger’s father to help them sneak into the country. While in exile, Killmonger’s resentment for both Klaw and Black Panther grew for their parts in his family’s demise. Even after Killmonger was allowed to return to Wakanda he acted as an opposing voice to T’Challa’s, calling for Wakanda to completely free itself from the influence of “white colonists.”
With that in mind, it seems odd to find Killmonger aligned wth Klaw in the trailer.
The Man in the Green Suit
One of the most intriguing figures in the Black Panther trailer, though he only appeared on screen for a moment, was a man wearing an emerald green suit and who also has a lip plate.
The actor is Isaach De Bankole who fought Daniel Craig in the James Bond movie Casino Royale. His character is the elder of one of the largest tribes in Wakanda.
The real question here is whether the elder is a friend or a foe to the Black Panther. T’CHalla is the ruler of Wakanda, but Wakanda is still a nation made up of many tribes who worship many gods or spirits and who have different agendas. A powerful tribal leader could be trouble for Black Panther.
Man-Ape
Winston Dukes will play another of Black Panther’s foes in the film, M’Baku the Man-Ape.
M’Baku in the comics was the leader of an outlawed cult who worshiped the White Gorilla totem and wanted to return Wakanda to a more primitive state and social order. In order gain the strength of his totem, M’Baku bathed in white gorilla blood and ate white gorilla flesh, but was still defeated by the Black Panther.
The question for the Black Panther movie is how far will M’Baku’s transformation go? Will he remain a fur-clad religious leader, or will he undergo the full Man-Ape transformation?
Shuri
The Black Panther movie is doubling the number of Black Panthers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
T’Chaka, T’Challa’s father, had a daughter as well, T’Challa’s half-sister Shuri. Shuri, played by Letitia Wright in the movie, was a Wakandan princess and supporting character when she was first introduced to the Black Panther comics, but grew into the spotlight and claimed it has her own.
When T’Challa is put into a comatose state following an attack by the villainous council called the Cabal, Shuri is nominated to replace him as Black Panther and takes over as the series’ lead for a time.
Will Shuri be relegated to a supporting princess’s duties in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or is she on the path to becoming a Black Panther herself?
More Black Panther
MORE BLACK PANTHER NEWS: The 5 Best Moments From The Teaser Trailer / Man-Ape’s Motive Explained / DC’s Geoff Johns Praises Black Panther Trailer / Black Panther: First Details On Shuri Revealed
Black Panther currently has a 4.02 ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating, making it the seventh-most anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com users. Let us know how much you’re anticipating Black Panther by giving the movie your own personal ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating below.
Marvel Studios’ Black Panther follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king.
But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king—and Black Panther—is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.
Black Panther is directed by Ryan Coogler from a screenplay co-written by Coogler and Joe Robert Cole. Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa / Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis.
Black Panther will be released on February 16, 2018.
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Image Credit: Marvel Comics -
Captain America: Civil War
