How Black Panther Handles Being King and a Hero

When fans learned Marvel Studios was debuting Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, they pitied any other superhero films competing with the flick. After all, it is hard to beat the hype Thanos has, but T’Challa should not be too worried. After all, Black Panther has all the makings of a great film, and Chadwick Boseman is ready for fans to see his character become the hero he was born to be.

ComicBook.com had the chance to speak with Boseman during a set visit for Black Panther, and it was there the star opened up about T’Challa and his busy life. Being a superhero is no easy feat, but things only become more difficult when you are also a king. Boseman admits T’Challa is trying to find a balance in his life when Black Panther starts.

“At the beginning of the film, I think he’s neither,” Boseman said. “He’s been Black Panther before, but I would say at the beginning of this movie, it’s shortly after Civil War has ended, so he’s still mourning.”

“There’s unrest in Wakanda,” he added. “So what he’s dealing with in being the king is the transition of filling the footsteps of his father. It’s probably going to feel like the movie is more about political unrest than the superhero initially.”

T’Challa may be finding his kingly footing, but Boseman says the character knows what is expected of him. He may be new to the throne, but his father raised him to become a fair king. However, no one could have expected T’Challa to gain the crown the way he did.

“He’s been prepared for it his whole life,” Boseman revealed. “He’s groomed so to speak to become king. I think it’s just the mental transition. Like, if his father had decided that he was going to step down, saying, ‘I’m too old, I can’t do it anymore,’ then that would be a different scenario. But because he died in the last movie, I think the transition has to do with that mourning process.”

It may take some time, but T’Challa will come into his own in Black Panther as he comes into his own as a superhero and a king. There are heavy responsibilities on his shoulders, but the hero will bear them well. So, when Thanos does come knocking in the third Avengers film, T’Challa will be able to help lead his comrades against the Mad Titan.

Black Panther currently has a ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating of 4.17 out of 5, making it the second most anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com Users. Let us know how excited you are for Black Panther by giving the movie your own ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating below.

Black Panther opens in theaters on February 16th.

Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Avengers: Infinity War on May 4th, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6th, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.