In a new interview with Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman, the actor reveals what the character will be up to in Captain America: Civil War.
In Captain America: Civil War’s first trailer, we only saw a few shots of Black Panther, but he looks to have an interesting role in the film according to Boseman. He tells EW that the character doesn’t mess around.
“He’s definitely not the life of the party in this instance. 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.”
While the teams are more clear cut for Tony Stark and Cap, Black Panther is a bit of a mystery, and has intentions of living up to his father’s legacy.
“There definitely is a sort of tradition that he’s torn between, in terms of how things were done in the past and how things need to happen now in this new world,” Boseman continues. “I think there’s perhaps a bit of a maverick there, and then there’s also a need to live up to traditions and his father’s legacy. And not even his father’s legacy, but the entire nation of Wakanda. I think those are the things you will see.”
Boseman says that while he and Cap are at odds in the film, they happen to be very similar underneath their superhero alter egos. He says that he really enjoyed his scenes with Chris Evans.“I love our scenes together because I do think they feel a sense of responsibility. I think they’re both very selfless people. They want the right thing, no one’s irrational, no one has an inflated ego.” (Unlike Iron Man)
“They’re family-first people,” Evans says. “I think outside of the suits we’d be friends, Steve and T’Challa.”
Marvel President Kevin Feige reveals that they didn’t just want to give him a cameo, but wanted him to have a full character arc in the film, which would lead to his solo film in 2016.
“We kept talking about ‘Somebody like Black Panther …’ After the third or fourth time that came up in a development meeting, someone said, ‘Can’t we just do the Black Panther?’ And we all looked at each other and said, ‘Yeah, I guess we could,’” Feige says. “We introduce him here, give him an arc, and make him a full character. 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.”
Civil War’s executive producer Nate Moore says Black Panther has a lot to fight for because he has to look after his people, given that he’s an ambassador of sorts for Wakanda. “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. 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.”
As for Black Panther’s suit, we knew it would be made out of vibranium, considering he’s from where the metal comes out of the Earth, but it looks like his suit may react a bit different than Cap’s shield.
“The vibranium is a metal that is dynamic. It can change how it’s used. It’s not a liquid, but it has the ability to change shape and change form and still have its strength. I think there are a lot of things about that in the mythology that I think has a lot of potential in terms of the storytelling… It’s not just about being durable, it has the ability to absorb energy. It’s not just like you hit it and it doesn’t take it. It has the ability to absorb the attack of another person and repel or respond to that attack. That’s part of the power.”
It’s interesting that they’ve put so much thought into a character who isn’t the lead or even the second lead in Civil War, and exciting to finally have Black Panther join Marvel’s film universe.
Captain America: Civil War will hit theaters May 6, 2016.