Marvel’s Black Panther Compared To A “Big, Operatic Family Drama”

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. Having introduced the world to the fictional nation of Wakanda through Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel is poised to blow the lid off what is essentially the modern-day equivalent of El Dorado. Situated just above a vast reserve of Vibranium, the near-indestructible material that lines the jet-black suit of Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa, Wakanda has mined this precious resource to become one of the most advanced nations on the planet.

But Wakanda’s secret is about to be exposed, and to make matters worse, Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger is about to stage a military coup to tear Wakanda’s royal family asunder. Yes, Inhumans isn’t the only Marvel drama with a dysfunctional family, and as part of EW’s extensive coverage, executive producer Nate Moore revealed that Black Panther pays tribute to two classics of film history: James Bond, and The Godfather in the sense that Ryan Coogler’s origin pic can be compared to a “big, operatic family drama.”

What I think we landed on was sort of a cross between James Bond and The Godfather. A big, operatic family drama centered on a world of international espionage. So hopefully we’re getting the best of both worlds.

Black Panther scurries into theaters on February 16th, 2018.