What a time to be alive. Things may have been pretty grim this year, but let's not undersell the fact that we're living in the midst of an Angela Bassett renaissance, and that, at least, is something worth smiling about. Riding off the success of her American Horror Story resurgence, Bassett has landed a key role in Marvel's Black Panther as T'Challa's mother, Romonda. If there's ever been such a flawless movie cast, I'm not sure I've seen it.
In addition to Chadwick Boseman, who made his impressive debut as the titular Wakandan king, spiritual figure, and superhero in Civil War, Ryan Coogler‘s hugely-anticipated follow-up has also lined up Michael B. Jordan as the villainous Killmonger, Lupita Nyong’o as the Wakandan warrior Nakia, Andy Serkis as Age of Ultron’s low-tier baddie Ulysses Claw, and Winston Duke as a key villain M’Baka, nee “Man-Ape”. Other recent additions include Forest Whitaker as Zuri, an elder statesman of Wakanda. Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), and the return of Captain America: Civil War standout Florence Kasumba as a member of T'Challa's personal guard, the Dora Milaje.
Black Panther is expected to role into production early last year, but we still don't have an official synopsis of where we find T’Challa after the events of Civil War. The biggest hint yet came from Nyong’o, who revealed a little about the story story back at Comic-Con:
The story is that the Black Panther’s leadership is really threatened by two foes who come together, and so Black Panther gets the help of the C.I.A. and the Dora Milaje to try and defeat the enemy.
Black Panther opens February 16, 2018 and also stars Danai Gurira. For more of the latest Black Panther news check out the links below.
- ‘Black Panther’ Adds Winston Duke to Play the Villainous M’Baku
- Watch: Black Panther & Black Widow’s ‘Civil War’ of Words in ‘Captain America’ Deleted Scene
- Michael B. Jordan on the Timeliness of ‘Black Panther’ and When ‘Creed 2′ Might Happen
- Chadwick Boseman Reveals What He Wants to See in ‘Black Panther’
- ‘Black Panther’: First Plot Details Revealed By Lupita Nyong’o
