AT LAST, A BLACK SUPERHERO TO ROOT FOR ON THE BIG SCREEN
INMarvel Studios’ highly anticipated “Black Panther,” there’s an early scene in which countless characters from fictional African tribes gather for a sacred ceremony to crown their new king. It’s the moment that the weight of this film hit actress Florence Kasumba, who plays the warrior Ayo.
“We . . . saw the beauty of black people,” Kasumba tells The Post. “I’m not used to seeing so many beautiful people with dark skin colors in one spot. That’s when I was like, ‘Wow, this is such an amazing experience.’”
To call “Black Panther” — starring Chadwick Boseman in the title role — a different kind of blockbuster would be an understatement. The movie, in theaters Feb. 15, marks the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first feature led by a black actor. But it’s more than that; it’s a cultural milestone that offers audiences the rare opportunity to see a predominantly black cast in a big-budget event film. Hollywood just doesn’t make movies like this.
Audiences are clearly craving this type of representation: At the end of January, Fandango announced that “Black Panther” was already outpacing the daily num- ber of advance tickets sold for any other superhero film before.
“That added additional pressures to the movie and informed every decision that we made,” Marvel Studios head and “Panther” producer Kevin Feige tells The Post, referring to both the casting and behind-the-camera hiring.
On-screen, Boseman reprises his role from 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War” as T’Challa/Black Panther, and he’s joined by a top-notch cast of black stars, including Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker. But it was the hiring of director Ryan Coogler — who co-wrote the script and pushed for diversity behind the camera — that was essential.
The movie follows T’Challa, a prince who must lead the futuristic (and fictional) African nation of Wakanda following his father’s death. As T’Challa battles ferocious foes, he is faced with the dilemma of whether to share his kingdom’s vast resources and technology beyond the country’s perimeter.
Two years ago, “Ryan [Coogler] was working on a universal story of the African-American experience and a story of an isolationist country deciding to
“[Kids are] getting to see a black superhero with a narrative that’s outpacing all other superhero movies.” — Winston Duke, M’Baku in “Black Panther”
open [its] borders and participate in the broader world,” says Feige. “They’ve become more relevant and topical.”
The original comic creators in the 1960s “tapped into what was going on [then] in the cultural zeitgeist among African-Americans,” Coogler told the UK’s Telegraph newspaper. “It was our duty to do the same.”
Now, in the wake of fierce division over immigration — as well as reports of President Trump’s dismissal of African nations as “s-- thole countries” — it’s not too difficult to see its relevance to today’s world.
Winston Duke, who plays T’Challa’s adversary, M’Baku, tells The Post he loves that the film raises difficult questions about global responsibility. As a 10-year-old boy and new immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago, he learned about US culture from the comics he bought from a Brooklyn shop.
“[The movie asks,] what does it mean to actually be a patriot?” says Duke. “Do you just stand by your country no matter what, even while it’s potentially doing wrong? Or do you hold your country accountable for its actions and try to make it a better place?”
Duke adds that there’s undeniable value in children of color seeing themselves represented on-screen.
“It really moves me that kids are going to be able to ingest this kind of material . . . before they’re fully formed, before they have a deep understanding of the nuance of race politics,” he says. “They’re getting to see a black superhero with a narrative that’s outpacing all other superhero movies. That’s really beautiful, and I want them to know that this can and should be the norm.”