Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Black Panther

  • ‘Black Panther 2’s Script Always Included Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val

    ‘Black Panther 2’s Script Always Included Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val

    Ryan Coogler had a lot of challenges when it came to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with everything that has happened in the last few years. Many were worried about the inclusion of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the story, but it turns out that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was always part of the story he envisioned for the film as revealed by co-writer Joe Robert Cole.

    Ryan will have a different perspective as the director, but I’ve never had a conversation where I was asked to incorporate something that didn’t feel organic. The dynamic of the U.S. being an instigator and Western powers being an instigator, that always existed. It wasn’t, ‘Oh, we need to find a reason to make this character exist.’ It was, ‘Oh, this is already in here and there’s this wonderful actress available.’ It always starts from the story and the ideas

    Joe Robert Cole

    Ryan Coogler did confirm though that her character’s role had to be dialed back to make room to deal with T’Challa’s death; the film’s way of paying tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman.

    Yeah, nobody was shoehorned in or asked to be put into the movie or anything like that. Actually, in this version, [Louis-Dreyfus’s role] was pared back in order to make space for dealing with T’Challa’s death. And we had Val in there before she even appeared in any of the other movies, before Black Widow and [the series] Falcon and the Winter Soldier. People assume that we were told to put her in, but she was there from the beginning.

    Ryan Coogler

    He goes on to highlight that the conflict originally had more involvement from Val, who had a more active part in the film. Sadly, he doesn’t go into any details regarding how that would’ve evolved the story.

    Yeah. But it was a combination. Val [the C.I.A. director, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus] was much more active. It was basically a three-way conflict between Wakanda, the U.S. and Talokan. But it was all mostly from the child’s perspective.

    Ryan Coogler

    The film’s ending does imply that the story element that was originally part of this film might be explored in the future in some way. Plus, while it may have made some question why Val was included to begin with, it still gave us a future conflict that fits perfectly into Namor’s own plans moving forward.

    Source: New York Times

  • ‘Black Panther’ Star Believes a Recast of T’Challa is Inevitable

    ‘Black Panther’ Star Believes a Recast of T’Challa is Inevitable

    As Black Panther: Wakanda Forever approaches the end of its exclusive theatrical window, those who persevered in making the film despite the loss of Chadwick Boseman have continued to share their thoughts on how the film evolved following the actor’s death. Winston Duke, whose M’Baku grew to be a close and trusted ally of Boseman‘s T’Challa, has emerged as a rising star in Hollywood and the conclusion of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever leaves his character in an incredibly important position: as the new King of Wakanda. While M’Baku holds the throne, for now, Duke isn’t afraid to peer pragmatically into the future.

    In an interview with Esquire, Duke talked in depth about the passing of his friend, how it shaped the sequel and what he believes the future of the character to be. In Duke‘s mind, it’s not a matter of if Marvel Studios will recast the role of T’Challa, made famous by Boseman, it’s a matter of when.

    There’s no way they’ll never remake Black Panther in the future. There’s no way that the saga and interpretation of T’Challa, King of Wakanda, will end. He is canon. So trust that it’ll come. But allow this to be a human experience.

    Winston Duke

    While the near future of the cinematic iteration of the World of Wakanda would seem to be prepared to focus on former Dora Milaje General Okoye and the son of T’Challa and heir to the throne of Wakanda introduced in Wakanda Forever, Duke‘s comments are likely in line with some longer-term plans of Marvel Studios. The Multiverse Saga is currently set to wrap up in 2026 with Avengers: Secret Wars, a film that will almost certainly involve familiar heroes from different timelines who may, in some cases, be portrayed by unfamiliar actors. Given that possibility, it’s not hard to imagine Marvel Studios taking the opportunity to cast another actor as T’Challa, a move that would, in a way, not strictly be a recast but still provide the opportunity for more stories about one of Marvel Comics most well-developed characters to be told. Future stories in the MCU could see T’Challa interacting with Reed Richards, Storm and Namor, characters with whom a rich comic book history as been developed. As Duke said, T’Challa “is canon”, but allowing Boseman’s friends and family to go through their own “human experience” rightly took precedent over cinematic stories.

    Source: Esquire

  • ‘Avatar 2’, ‘The Batman’, Black Panther 2′ and More Shortlisted for Oscars

    ‘Avatar 2’, ‘The Batman’, Black Panther 2′ and More Shortlisted for Oscars

    It’s a big year for cinema, even while the box office has been struggling. We’ve seen some massive successes beat expectations, such as Top Gun Maverick taking the cinema by storm. Marvel was building back its pull at the box office with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. We’ve had indie standouts like Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Whale, The Banshees of Inisherin, and more. DC was even back in style with a creative new take on their iconic Dark Knight in The Batman.

    Now, the time has once again arrived for what the future has in store as we enter the awards season. The Oscars has just dropped its shortlisting for those films that may gain a nomination for the 95th Academy Awards. This is not the final nomination list but rather the first breakdown of those projects that have a chance of getting the coveted nomination.

    Here’s a quick highlight of some noticeable nominations for this year. Original Score has nominated some big projects like Avatar: The Way of Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Devotion, Glass Onion, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Nope, and more. “Hold my Hand” by Top Gun: Maverick and “Lift Me Up” from the Black Panther sequel join the Original Song shortlist among many others.

    The superhero and blockbuster genre once again dominates the Visual Effects shortlist, which includes The Batman, Wakanda Forever, and the Doctor Strange sequel, but is also joined by All Quiet on the Western Front, Jurassic World Dominion, Nope, and more. Though it would be hard to imagine the Avatar sequel not winning the category considering James Cameron‘s mastery of the arts over the many years of production.

    It’ll be exciting to see how the year turns out, and with the variety of projects currently out there, this might be one of the most exciting Oscars yet. Of course, everyone will have their favorite and feel like one project over the other should’ve won but it’s always great to celebrate the accomplishments of cinema from an indie, blockbuster, or just a movie lovers perspective.

    Source: Oscars

  • ‘Wakanda Forever’ Repeats the Original ‘Black Panther’s Box Office Record

    ‘Wakanda Forever’ Repeats the Original ‘Black Panther’s Box Office Record

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has kept its position at the top of the box office, as the film has finally crossed $400M to do so. What stands out though is that while it’s a rough weekend for the box office, this marks Ryan Coogler as the first director to have two of his films stand at the top spot for five weeks consecutively; that back-to-back releases. The film did luck out with Wakanda Forever having no true competition until Avatar: The Way of Water that’ll release next weekend.

    One thing is clear though, Wakanda Forever is not going to scratch the $700M domestic or the $1.3B global from the original Black Panther in 2018. While some corners of the internet are calling it a flop, the film is far from it. Its success is quite commendable if you also consider it lost its main draw, the title star Chadwick Boseman, and a movie market that is simply not what it once was. Only in 2022 can a film that’s going to pass $800M be considered a flop of any kind; a fate cursed upon Thor: Love and Thunder just a few months back. As of now, Wakanda Forever stands at an impressive $767.8M and is the sixth-highest grossing movie of 2022.

    The big question on everyone’s mind is: what is going on? The weekend pulled in $38.5M and marks the second worst of the entire year followed by the soft opening back in January at around $35M. Sadly, with no real releases throughout the last few weeks, there’s simply no momentum or reason for people to go to the theater. We’ve seen some standout successes this year that still managed to revive the box office, such as Marvel Studios’ three massive openings, The Batman and Top Gun: Maverick‘s impressive legs, Jurassic World still showing its dominance, and even a Minion movie almost crossing a billion.

    Yet, the fall release schedule has been abysmal with minor releases and barely anything to draw audiences in. Black Adam did not reignite the spark that Warner Bros. hoped it could when it’s saving measures led to it only releasing two films for the rest of the quarter. Smaller releases did quite well like Violent Night‘s impressive hold at the second spot but Disney couldn’t give it a boost with its undermarketed Strange World animated film. Devotion went on to proof that Top Gun Maverick was more a lightning in a bottle rather than the new norm. There’s hope that the packed schedule for 2023 could bring some more life back into theaters, but 2022’s only remaining hope is Avatar: The Way of Water.

    Source: Twitter, Variety

  • ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Spends 5th Weekend at No. 1

    ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Spends 5th Weekend at No. 1

    With no other new releases this weekend, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has taken the top spot at the box office yet again. The weekend is heading towards the second lowest box office weekend of the year with an estimated $37.2 million. Depending on how Saturday’s numbers go, the box office could end up being the lowest box office of the year.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is now in its fifth week, is estimated to take in $11 million after earning $2.8 million on Friday. Along with retaining the top spot, the film officially crossed $400 million at the domestic box office and is currently sitting at $401.55 million. That puts it ahead of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness after 29 days of release; that film, of course, earned $411 million domestically and $955.77 million at the worldwide box office.

    Wakanda Forever should finally lose the top spot next weekend when 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water finally hits theaters. The film is expected to open to $200 million domestically, although that estimate could change – especially given early reactions have praised the long-awaited sequel.

    Source: Deadline.

  • New ‘Wakanda Forever’ Concept Art Reveals Alternative Namor Designs

    New ‘Wakanda Forever’ Concept Art Reveals Alternative Namor Designs

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has made a big splash in theaters with the introduction of Talocan and its ruler, Namor. While the film was mainly exploring grief, it also explored the parallels between Wakanda and Talcon. It created a very grounded and emotional story with a complex antagonist that has the potential to do good and also more bad.

    Tenoch Huerta famously takes on the role in the film with a surprisingly comic accurate design. While they add many elements that reflect the characters Mayan roots, we still got his feet wings and the iconic green shorts. Yet, it seems they have played around with some alternative designs as revealed by concept artist Wesley Burt.

    You can already see the cultural inspirations in these early designs, and it seems like director Ryan Coogler knew exactly how he wanted to tackle the character of Namor. The fifth design actually showcases one that seems quite close to an armor he wore in the comics. So, they definitely also used his various runs as an inspiration but they ended up going with his more classic design.

    Namor feels like a major character that we can definitely expect to see sooner rather than later, but sadly there’s still no news on a potential spinoff. Recent reports did hint that they can’t actually produce a film due to the film rights still being with Universal; an issue he shares with Hulk. So, perhaps there’s a different project that might see Huerta return to the iconic role once again with perhaps a new design inspired by these earlier concepts.

    Source: Instagram

  • Michael B. Jordan Discusses What It Took to Keep Killmonger’s Return in ‘Wakanda Forever’ a Surprise

    Michael B. Jordan Discusses What It Took to Keep Killmonger’s Return in ‘Wakanda Forever’ a Surprise

    A debate about which character should become the next Black Panther in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arose among fans following the death of franchise star Chadwick Boseman. Some fans believed Marvel Studios should follow the route established in the comics and have Shuri assume the mantle. Other fans, however, had other ideas. Nakia, M’Baku and the villain of Black Panther, Killmonger, all made the lists of fans around the globe. Killmonger, who was played in the first film by Michael B. Jordan, was an interesting choice given the fact that he was both canonically deceased and made terrible choices during his reign as King and Black Panther of Wakanda. Ultimately, writer and director Ryan Coogler made the decision to have Shuri become the protector of Wakanda and take on Namor. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t room for Jordan’s Killmonger in the film.

    Upon recreating the heart-shaped herb and moving into the Ancestral Plane where she believed she would be greeted by her brother, Letitia Wright’s Shuri was shockingly greeted by her cousin, the villainous Killmonger. The return of the character to the Ancestral Plane was the subject of rumor and speculation long before the film’s release, but Jordan never gave it away. In fact, according to the star, he knew that working with Marvel Studios meant he “had to lie to everybody” to keep the appearance a secret.

    While discussing his return in an interview with Extra, Jordan indicated that lying and denying is just part of the deal when working with Marvel and that includes lying to his family.

    I had to lie to my family over here. I had to lie to everybody out here… I had to just keep it under wraps… When you’re dealing with Marvel and stuff like that, you know the routine. So you just gotta, you know, deny, deny, deny, deny, deny until the end of it, yeah.

    Michael B. Jordan

    Marvel Studios and its actors are, of course, famously disingenuous when it comes to discussing upcoming projects. The “Marvel way” of lying and misleading fans rather than using the actors’ presence in the project is certainly a curious way to build hype, but Marvel has maintained its intense level of secrecy for well over a decade, at times to the dismay of stars such as Zoë Saldaña, who compared working with the studio to being part of a cult in terms of holding on to secrets. Hopefully, Jordan’s family forgives him in time for the holidays!

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is still in theaters!

    Source: Extra

  • ‘Black Panther 2’ Remains at #1 for 4th Weekend in a Row, Passes $700M Worldwide

    ‘Black Panther 2’ Remains at #1 for 4th Weekend in a Row, Passes $700M Worldwide

    With little competition, it seems that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had no problem keeping its hold on the No. 1 spot with another $17.6M. That makes it the fourth weekend in a row; the first to do so since the release of Sony and Marvel Studios’ record-breaking Spider-Man: No Way Home. It did have some competition this weekend as David Harbour‘s Violent Night, a story about John Wick if he was Santa Clause, managed to pull in $13.3M over its premiere weekend, ahead of early projections.

    Wakanda Forever now stands at $394M domestic and will definitely pass $400M and has a good chance at pulling in $450M by the end of its run. If the film will manage to hold that top spot in the next weekend depends on the return of Top Gun: Maverick which has been the only film so far to really outperform any expectation during 2022’s release. For those wondering if this means people are tired of superhero films: it had a pull with a long-dormant audience with its increase of older movie goers that may have generally been cautious ever since the pandemic hit and simply held a nostalgia for Tom Cruise and Top Gun. Good word-of-mouth did the rest.

    Worldwide, Black Panther has already passed the $700M mark and proudly stands at $733M. It’s foreign tally of $339M is quite interesting as normally Marvel productions are bigger internationally than domestically though the split was similar with the original Black Panther release. The film is unlikely to pass the original’s run and a billion does seem far-fetched, more dependent on how long Marvel Studios can keep it in theaters at this point. Still, in the later $800M area seems possible but there’s some uncertainty if it can pull through with $900M; though Doctor Strange did surprise earlier this year as well.

    Strange World is continuing to bomb as it is struggling quite a bit with only $4.9M taking in over the weekend and standing at a depressing $25.5M. With $42.3M worldwide, the film is likely to lose Disney more than $100M at this rate. Also to make a point regarding Top Gun earlier, Jonathan Majors and Adam Powell‘s Devotion didn’t quite become the same hit like Top Gun did earlier this year while trying to bandwagon off of its success with a similar style only set during the Korean War. It still did decently with a 12-day domestic of $13.8M, pulling in $2.8M this weekend.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • [SPOILER] Was Always Part of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Script

    [SPOILER] Was Always Part of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s Script

    In case you haven’t had a chance to see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever yet, here’s a spoiler warning for one of the biggest moments in the film.

    Watching Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has been quite an emotional experience, as you can feel that this film acts as a way for the cast and crew to digest the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman. At the end of the film, not only does Shuri finally find a way to digest her grief but also uses it as a way to move on as Wakanda’s new Black Panther. Yet, that wasn’t the only big moment when the credit rolled and we were introduced to Nakia and T’Challa’s son, Prince T’Challa.

    This moment felt like something that pays tribute to their late friend while also building up the feeling that T’Challa lives on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; perhaps just not in the direct recasting way that some usually expect. Still, it was a powerful moment that definitely will stick with many after the final credits have rolled. Surprisingly, it does seem like this wasn’t something added after Boseman‘s passing but has been part of the script but the way he was revealed has changed according to film’s co-writer, Joe Robert Cole.

    T’Challa had a child in a previous iteration of the script prior to Chad’s passing. Him having a child was always in the DNA of what we wanted to do. We just weren’t sure, after he passed, about the best way to incorporate him. So there were various iterations of his son being in our new story. And we finally landed on the reveal at the end. There was a point where I think when Ramonda [Angela Bassett] goes to Haiti, we had talked about potentially having him be revealed there. So we knew we wanted him to be a part of the movie in some way, and landed, I think, on the best possible version.

    Joe Robert Cole

    It’s really interesting to find out that he’s always been part of the film’s script but there never was a clear point when they wanted to introduce him. The fact that they kept him for th ened was the most fitting, especially with how emotional it makes the reveal once we see for the first time. It was especially fitting that he carries on his father’s name which may be something they added later on potentially. Still, T’Challa lives on in more ways than one.

    Source: Rolling Stone

  • Shuri Wasn’t Always the Next Black Panther in ‘Wakanda Forever’

    Shuri Wasn’t Always the Next Black Panther in ‘Wakanda Forever’

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever made a big deal out of who would take over the mantle moving forward, as director Ryan Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole decided to honor their friend Chadwick Boseman by having his character T’Challa face a similar fate. The film has become a way for many to cope with the events that happened and the film became a beautiful tribute to grief and having memories of loved ones live on in our minds.

    Of course, there’s the challenge of finding who would carry on the mantle, and the film would eventually settle on Letitia Wright‘s Shuri. It makes sense given that she’s the next one in line for the throne, and is the only one that can recreate the herb that gives the mantle its powers. Still, it seems that according to Cole, they have played around with some others taking on the mantle, such s Winston Duke‘s M’Baku.

    We would kick around the ideas, and try to extrapolate where the story goes and what’s the most impactful choice — what’s the best journey? And where do you go after the film in terms of those characters. M’Baku certainly was someone that got kicked around a little bit. I think you’re correct because in the comics, Shuri is Black Panther and there’s a natural organicness, I guess is the best way to say it, to her becoming Panther. But you kick the tires on all sorts of ideas. And you just want to make the best decision and do what’s best for the story.

    Joe Robert Cole

    He does highlight that they also have considered passing the mantle to Lupita N‘yongo‘s character Nakia but settled on the more fitting decision to have the Black Panther remain in the family. They went through quite a few ideas early on, but the film also keeps the door open for someone else that can take it on in the future. And who knows what the future has in store, as we’re still in the Multiverse Saga that might feature some others wearing the mantle.

    Source: Rolling Stone