Black Panther (2018)

Black Panther is an American feature film of the superhero fantasy genre. It was directed by Ryan Coogler with a script written by Coogler, and Joe Robert Cole. It is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Black Panther the eighteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and was produced by Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Productions. It was released theatrically in the United States on February 16th, 2018.

Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman as the eponymous hero, T'Challa aka, the Black Panther, alongside Michael B. Jordan as the primary antagonist Erik Killmonger, Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Winston Duke as M'Baku, Angela Bassett as Queen Ramonda, Forest Whitaker as Zuri, and Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue. In Black Panther, T'Challa returns home as king of Wakanda but finds his sovereignty challenged by a new adversary, in a conflict with global consequences.

Plot
Wakanda is threatened when an outsider claims the throne after defeating king T'Challa, the Black Panther. The defeated king must claim back the throne so his beloved country does not fall.

Notes & Trivia

 * Black Panther was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. He first appeared in Fantastic Four, Volume 1 #52 in July, 1966.


 * In January 2016, Ryan Coogler was confirmed as director. In agreeing to direct the film after being "wooed" by Kevin Feige for months, Coogler insisted that he bring collaborators from his previous films to work on Black Panther, to differentiate the film from others in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that are often "shot, composed, and edited by the same in-house people".


 * Black Panther premiered in Los Angeles on January 29th, 2018, and was released theatrically in the United States on February 16th, 2018, in 2D, 3D, IMAX and other premium large formats. The film received praise for its screenplay, direction, performances, action, costume design, production merits, and soundtrack, though the CGI effects received some criticism.


 * Black Panther has grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2018, as well as the seventh highest-grossing film ever in the United States and 14th highest-grossing film of all time. Its four-day opening weekend gross of $242.1 million and its three-day gross of $202 million in the United States were the second and fifth highest of all time, respectively, as well as the biggest debut by an African-American director.


 * Wesley Snipes expressed interest in working on a Black Panther film in 1992, but the project did not come to fruition. Snipes previously played another Marvel Comics character, Eric Brooks, in the Blade film series.


 * The rapper and songwriter, Kendrick Lamar, along with Anthony "Tog Dawg" Tiffith, curated the official soundtrack. Several of the songs from the soundtrack album were also used in the film.


 * The actor, singer, rapper, songwriter and comedian, Donald Glover, received a thank you in the end credits. This is likely due to his frequent work with Ludwig Göransson, the composer of the film. It is also important to note, Donald appeared in Marvel's Spider-Man: Homecoming, released the year previous.


 * Several of the actors and actresses appearing in the film have previously worked on non-Marvel films together. These include Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis and Danny Sapani, who all appeared in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman, who appeared in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett and Marija Juliette Abney, who appeared in Black Nativity.


 * The young version of King T'Chaka was played by Atandwa Kani, the son of John Kani, who played the present day T'Chaka. Likewise, Denzel Whitaker played a younger version of his father's character, Zuri.


 * Similar to the Amazons in DC's Wonder Woman, Black Panther's Dora Milaje were played mostly by stunt performers.