Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new king of Wakanda. Granted, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) would rather NOT be the king of his native land. But someone went and murdered his father, King T'Chaka, so Black Panther assumes the throne. And heavy is the head that wears the crown. Black Panther sits in his perch on the new poster for Marvel's next origin story. Drink this beauty in right now:
Ready for even better news? The reason that Marvel Studios is releasing a brand new Black Panther one sheet is because Black Panther also plans to drop a first-look teaser trailer TONIGHT (!!), during Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. All eyes will be on this game, as its expected that the Warriors will sweep LeBron James and the Cavs tonight. The game is Must-See TV, and so putting a Black Panther spot on during the game is a stroke of marketing genius.
By Marvel's standards we are WAY ahead of schedule on seeing any footage from Black Panther, Ryan Coogler's take on the ascension of T'Challa to a leadership role in Wakanda. The movie doesn't street until February 16, 2018, and there are two other Marvel movies that arrive before Black Panther -- Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok. That being said, both of those movies have shown off footage, so it's time to start educating audiences on the next chapter in the MCU.
T'Challa, or Black Panther, was introduced in Joe and Anthony Russo's Captain America: Civil War. It was during that movie that an explosion, caused by Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), took the life of Wakanda's King T'Chaka, and T'Challa spent the rest of the movie hunting Bucky (Sebastian Stan), the man he wrongfully blamed for the bombing. Now that the dust has settled, T'Challa is heading home to Wakanda (we recently reported that the Black Panther movie will pick up shortly after Civil War), only, new problems await.
Along with the new poster came a plot synopsis for Ryan Coogler's Black Panther movie, released by Marvel. They tell us:
Marvel Studios' Black Panther follows T'Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T'Challa's mettle as king---and Black Panther---is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.
The kingdom of Wakanda is becoming an important backdrop for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Captain America (Chris Evans) chose to stash the Winter Soldier there following the rocky conclusion of Civil War. We don't think it's a coincidence that Black Panther is the last Marvel movie leading into The Avengers: Infinity War. For that, and other reasons, we look forward to visiting Wakanda in February and learning more about this unusual kingdom, and its ferocious leader.
Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis. It arrives in theaters in February, though we will have a teaser to pore over tonight. We also have a full list of all the Upcoming Marvel Movies, so click those words to see what's on the horizon.
