‘Black Panther’s Martin Freeman Talks About His Character’s Journey

Now that Thor: Ragnarok is playing in theaters everywhere, the Marvel Studios hype machine has turned its attention toward the next film on the calendar, Black Panther.

Actor Martin Freeman will reprise his role as Everett K. Ross in new film, and the actor recently offered some details about his role during an interview with TORYMax.

“Myself and Andy Serkis have been referred to as ‘the Tolkien white guys,’” Freeman joked, mentioning their time in the Hobbit movies.

“I’m the government guy. I’m a CIA guy called Everett Ross, who was a character in the comics as well, who sort of has an uneasy peace with T’Challa, who is the Black Panther,” Freeman said. “And my character goes on a strange journey, an enlightening journey to Wakanda, which is the fictional African country. It’s really good.”

Freeman made his Marvel Studios debut as Ross in Captain America: Civil War, during which he’s attempting to track down Bucky Barnes for his role as the assassin known as the Winter Soldier. By the film’s end, though, he ends up working with the heroes after they capture Baron Zemo, who had been manipulating them against each other.

But Ross was co-created by Christopher Priest during the writer’s acclaimed run on Black Panther for Marvel Comics. The new movie appears to be taking a cue from those storylines, while also building from the recent run by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze.

In the comics, Ross worked for the U.S. State Department and escorted foreign diplomats who were visiting American soil.

Though the character’s role has changed since being translated to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it seems like they’ll be staying true to the characterization of the Ross.

It remains to be seen how prominently he’ll figure in Black Panther, though it seems like he’ll have more to do than he did in Captain America: Civil War.

We’ll find out for sure when Black Panther premieres in theaters on February 16, 2018.