The latest superhero epic from Marvel Studios introduced a favorite villain to the cinematic universe with Erik Killmonger.
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But while fans of Black Panther might have high hopes for the villains continued presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, director Ryan Coogler recently revealed that option was never considered.
Warning: Spoilers for Black Panther to follow.
In Black Panther, Erik Killmonger usurps the throne of Wakanda for a brief time before T’Challa comes back to take his birthright. After throwing the country into chaos briefly, his rage and his hubris gets the best of him and ultimately results in his plan unraveling. And though fans might wish Michael B. Jordan‘s character could stick around, Coogler said to the Empire Film Podcast that wasn’t in the cards.
“No, for him we always – that wasn’t something that we went back and forth on. His end was the same as draft one that it was in the film,” said Coogler. “Just because the idea was that these two things can’t coexist; if T’Challa and him… you know, that was a great tragedy of it for T’Challa, I think. But Killmonger was too far gone.”
In the beginning of the film, T’Challa is torn between his heritage and culture, and the duties that being a ruler in modern times brings. Though he knows he must move forward, he is presented by two sides of the same coin with his ex-lover Nakia’s ideology, and that of Killmonger.
While they both want to empower people across the world, Nakia’s reasons are altruistic while Killmonger’s comes from a place of betrayal and pride — he only wants to sow the seeds of chaos without care of the repercussions.
In the end, T’Challa realizes that his fathers traditional, isolationist policies helped create the problem of Killmonger, and that it would be a bigger disservice to the world to continue on in that manner. He accepts Nakia’s ideology and decides to move forward with Wakanda being a beacon to the world, using their advanced technology to help others rather than to hoard and isolate themselves.
Killmonger would never accept this, and if he escaped he would continue to wage his campaign of violence and disruption until his goals were achieved. And as he himself said, he would not live imprisoned for long, choosing death instead.
Knowing that Coogler recognized this early on and decided not to cheapen the story just to keep an interesting character around is a bold move in and of itself, and shows the director is more than capable of making big budget films that have complex themes for large audiences.
Black Panther is now playing in theaters everywhere.
