Next May, we’re getting more than just an epic showdown between Captain America and Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War. We’re being introduced to a key new character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Panther, and there’s some new info out about his role.
There’s also a brand new look at the character, and we can finally see the details in his suit, claws and more.
“We introduce him here, give him an arc, and make him a full character,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told Entertainment Weekly. “We don’t just give him a cameo, to wave. He has his own conflict and his own people that he’s looking out for.”
That conflict will make him Black Panther (played by Chadwick Boseman) the “undecided voter” in the battle between Cap (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) according to producer Nate Moore. A conflict necessary to increase the drama and give the audience an unaffiliated third party to relate to.
“He’s someone who hasn’t necessarily made up his mind about either side and whose agenda isn’t exactly what Cap’s agenda or what Tony’s agenda is,” Moore says. “And I think that brings him into conflict weirdly with both characters at different times in the film. He is the prince of an African nation that has so far stayed very much sort of in the shadows. And eventually the film will draw him and his father out of the shadows.”
Boseman hinted that part of what drags him out also will deal with his feelings for The Winter Soldier, played by Sebastian Stan.
“He’s definitely not the life of the party in this instance,” Boseman, tells the magazine. “I think this is something true of the comic book character and the movie. You never quite know where he stands. There’s always a bit of concealing and mystery. So I think mysterious is more his boat. Not to say there’s not charm and he can’t be a ladies’ man and all that. It’s more like if there is humor, it’s more like James Bond.”
You can read much more about Panther’s role in the film, including his ninja-like powers and the logistics - both on screen and off - of his suit, over at Entertainment Weekly.
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