Here’s a hot rumor that doesn’t sound out of the realm of possibility since Marvel cast Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan: Star Wars: The Force Awakens star John Boyega may be joining the Black Panther cast.
Update: THR is reporting that these rumors are not true. Nooo.
A series of events have led Marvel watchers to believe John Boyega has been in talks to join Black Panther starring Chadwick Boseman.
Evidence #1: An online report
Heroic Hollywood, who has a mixed but often good record of breaking scoops, says they’ve heard murmurs of Boyega being in talks for the movie.
Evidence #2: John Boyega on Snapchat
The actor sent out the following Snap on May 16 saying he was going into a meeting…
Evidence #3: … On the same day Marvel creative head Kevin Feige followed him on Twitter:
Interestingly, Feige only followed Boseman after following Boyega.
Evidence #4: And guess who John Boyega just started following? Yep, Kevin Feige:
Look, I understand following people on Twitter is hardly a casting confirmation, but it wouldn’t be the first time a producer followed a star ahead of a casting announcement, and the timing of it all is certainly suspicious.
Marvel’s recent casting decisions for Black Panther — namely Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan — have been stellar, and the casting of Boyega would fall perfectly in line with the hype around the latest additions. Not to mention… Nyong’o and Boyega currently share screen time in Disney’s Star Wars series (as Maz and Finn respectively). It just all feels like it’s adding up, doesn’t it?
If the news is true, it may not be long until we hear something about it. If/when we do, we probably won’t learn much about Boyega’s character. So far all we know about Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o’s characters is that they’ll be playing a villain and love interest respectively.
The movie will open in theaters February 2018, though you can see T’Challa now in Captain America: Civil War.
Related: Want to become a Black Panther expert in only a few minutes? Here you go