Part and parcel of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s continued success is its sheer diversity.
Take 2017 as an example. For the first time in the MCU’s ten-year history, Marvel Studios launched three mega-budget tentpoles in the form of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (a galactic sequel involving James Gunn’s A-Holes), Spider-Man: Homecoming (an expertly crafted, downright hilarious standalone pic for Peter Parker) and the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi’s superhero threequel that promises a radical new direction for Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder.
It’s an impressive lineup by anyone’s standards, and it’ll continue into 2018 thanks to the release of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther spinoff. For a while there, Marvel had been keeping a tight lid on the project, but Entertainment Weekly blew things wide open the other week when they placed the blockbuster on their cover, delivering a whole handful of story details along with some gorgeous stills.
And now, on the eve of San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel’s followed that up with yet another batch of hi-res images. Admittedly, we have seen a lot of these already, but now that we’ve got them in high resolution, we can pour over each and every detail as we admire Coogler’s impressive visual style.
Emerging as something of a dark horse as far as the studio’s upcoming slate goes, we know that by the time Black Panther kicks off, Chadwick Boseman has been anointed king of Wakanda, presiding over a radically advanced kingdom – the modern-day El Dorado, essentially – opposite Nakia.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens actress Lupita Nyong’o will take point as the aforementioned character, who’s described as “a covert agent whose job is to stifle word of Wakanda’s secrets, hunting down its enemies with deadly force.” She safeguards the people of this great nation from danger, then, but there’s trouble brewing in the form of Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger, a “dissident from the country and aspiring prince who has colluded with a hostile foreign adversary in a bid to bring down the rightful heir to Wakanda’s throne.”
It’s the final Marvel solo movie set to release before Avengers: Infinity War, which tells us that the events of Black Panther may well act as a springboard for Joe and Anthony Russo’s grand ensemble flick. We’ll find out whether that is indeed the case when Coogler’s spinoff descends into theaters on February 16th.
