With the second phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe set to culminate in next year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Internet has been amok with rumours concerning the nebulous phase three. Of the studio’s expansive plan — which has films mapped out right up until 2019 — the three comic book heroes gaining the most attention of late have been Ant-Man, Dr. Strange and the long-rumoured Black Panther.
And recently, Stan Lee himself touched upon the status of the latter project, which is still very much in development at the studio as a standalone project.
“Eventually, all the superheroes are going to have their own movies,” said Lee. “They are already working on Ant-Man, Dr. Strange and the Black Panther and there are others I am not allowed to talk about.”
Alas, it’s unlikely we’ll learn more about the specifics of the potential Black Panther movie until Age of Ultron debuts; in fact, given that filming locations for the anticipated sequel included South Africa, many fans expect that the character will make a cameo appearance in Joss Whedon’s follow-up.
That said, recently a whole host of potential stars have been linked with the coveted role, including John Boyega and Get On Up star, Chadwick Boseman. After all, considering that Black Panther is celebrated as the first black superhero in mainstream American comics, a standalone movie could represent a significant and indeed welcome departure for Marvel as a whole.
Furthermore, Black Panther could also provide a dose of artistic variety that the studio so needs. After all, effectively every film that the MCU has produced to date still adheres to a rigid three act formula, with the latter involving a large-scale and often sky-set battle — even the creatively ambitious and wholly brilliant Guardians of the Galaxy resided to this particular finale.
Tell us, would you like to see Black Panther and the tribal region of Wakanda make the leap from the pages onto the silver screen? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
