Black Panther Star Michael B. Jordan Reveals Intense Firearms Training Video for Killmonger Role

Black Panther has been in the pop culture consciousness for over a year now, but we’re still getting new behind-the-scenes looks at how the film came about. Michael B. Jordan, who portrayed the film’s antagonist Erik Killmonger, recently took to Instagram to show a video of him training for the role. In the video, Jordan can be seen undergoing firearms training for the role, using multiple weapons to shoot an array of targets.

This video is just the latest example of how dedicated Jordan became to his Black Panther role — something that apparently affected the actor in surprising ways. As Jordan has revealed in the time since the film debuted, he actually sought out therapy to process the emotional intensity of playing Killmonger.

“It was one of those things that I didn’t know what was going on,” Jordan shared in an interview late last year. “I never was in a character for that long of a period of time and was, I guess, that dark, that lonely, that painful. So coming out of it, I thought, ‘Oh yeah, business as usual. I can just go back home, I’ll cut my hair off, and everything will be back to normal.’”

“I found myself kind of in the routine of being isolated and went out of my way to make sure I was by myself and didn’t say too much more than the usual,” the actor continued. “Once I got finished wrapping the movie, it took me some time to talk through how I was feeling and why I was feeling so sad and like a little bit depressed.”

Even though Killmonger appeared to meet his demise at the end of Black Panther, recent rumors have suggested that he might appear in the film’s forthcoming sequel.

“I would assume [everyone would be back].” Black Panther co-star Angela Bassett said earlier this year.

“Yes, just go ahead and say it, yes. Everyone will be there. Just yes, yes.” Bassett’s husband, Courtney B. Vance, added.

“[We didn’t technically see him] go into the ocean, no,” Bassett echoed.

“Including Michael B., yes,” Vance added.

What do you think of Jordan’s behind-the-scenes training for Black Panther? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!