On paper, Gotham and Wakanda couldn’t be more different.
One is a crime-ridden dump that looks to a masked vigilante for help, while the other is an isolated utopia that exists on the cutting edge of technology. But during the creation of Black Panther, it turns out director Ryan Coogler looked to The Dark Knight‘s rendition of Gotham City, and how Christopher Nolan realized such a deeply fantastical city, for inspiration.
After fielding questions about alternate endings and Bucky Barnes on the Empire Podcast (h/t Screen Rant), Coogler turned his attention to The Dark Knight, and how it portrayed Gotham in such a realistic way.
I remember watching The Dark Knight and the film having commentary on privacy, commentary on terrorism. And that was all stuff that felt like it was of the now, so it made Gotham City feel like it was somewhere in the States. So I wanted Wakanda to feel like it was of the world. And with Daniel Kaluuya’s character [W’Kabi] is talking about is, I feel like it’s a conversation Wakandans would have if Wakanda was real. One rule we had was we didn’t want any dummies in this movie. Everybody in this movie had – wherever they stood on in terms of where they thought Wakanda should go, they should be able to articulate their point.
Adding to this, Marvel producer Nate More heaped yet more praise on Ryan Coogler, who is now three for three when it comes to critically-acclaimed feature films – Black Panther is his third directorial effort after Fruitvale Station and Creed, two films which featured also Michael B. Jordan in prominent roles.
Via Empire:
I will say, Ryan, as a filmmaker, was very committed to making sure that Wakanda felt like a real place that could be in Africa, because the danger of creating any new world was that, for us – as a comparison, we didn’t want it to feel like Asgard. We didn’t want it to feel like an alien place that obviously couldn’t exist. We wanted it to feel like it could exist.
So, there you have it. Black Panther, arguably one of the greatest movies ever produced by Marvel Studios, was influenced by The Dark Knight, easily one of the best superhero films of all time. And at least according to Rotten Tomatoes, T’Challa’s solo adventure isn’t too far behind.
