Marvel reveals villain to appear in 'Black Panther,' superhero movie with diverse cast
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Comic book movie studio Marvel has revealed more about its upcoming film 鈥淏lack Panther,鈥� a movie that will feature a black protagonist and keep Hollywood diversity moving forward, following the more diverse Oscar nominations this year.
鈥淏lack Panther鈥� stars Chadwick Boseman as T鈥機halla, or Black Panther, who is the ruler of the fictional country of Wakanda. The character was previously seen in the 2016 box office success 鈥淐aptain America: Civil War.鈥澨�
It had previously been announced that the 鈥淏lack Panther鈥� movie will co-star Lupita Nyong鈥檕, Michael B. Jordan, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, and Forest Whitaker. Now Marvel has also revealed that 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� actor Andy Serkis will reprise his Marvel role as supervillain Ulysses Klaue, who appeared in the 2015 film 鈥淎vengers: Age of Ultron.鈥� Also appearing will be Martin Freeman of 鈥淪herlock,鈥� who, like Mr. Boseman, debuted in the Marvel universe in 鈥淐aptain America: Civil War,鈥� in which he portrayed Everett K. Ross, who holds a position at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre.听
The 鈥淏lack Panther鈥� movie will be a step forward in diversity for Marvel, and Hollywood, following a more diverse Academy Awards season, after recent years' lack of diversity raised debate. Seven actors of color have been nominated for acting prizes for the 2017 Oscars,听tying the number that were nominated in 2007.听Within those seven, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also set a record for the number of black actors that were nominated, selecting six.
This will be the first time a movie released by Marvel Studios will have a black protagonist. Characters including the Falcon (portrayed by Anthony Mackie) and War Machine (portrayed by Don Cheadle) have appeared in Marvel Studios movies, but have not yet been the subject of their own movie.听
Before Marvel Studios, superhero films with a black protagonist at the center included 1998鈥檚 鈥淏lade,鈥� starring Wesley Snipes, and its sequels, as well as 2004鈥檚 鈥淐atwoman,鈥� which is based on the DC Comics character of the same name and stars Halle Berry.
