BLACK PANTHER || Chadwick Boseman unveiled his Black Panther character in The Russo Brother’s Captain America: Civil War, with the end of the film actually ending in his secret home of Wakanda. The teaser trailer for the film, however, does not start with Boseman. It starts with an interrogation between Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) of the Joint Counter Terrorism Center and Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) who appears to be the villain of the piece. Both characters briefly appeared in Captain America: Civil War as well. Ulysses asks “what do you know about Wakanda” referring to Panther’s home, where he rules as King T’Challa. The viewer is given its first glimpses of the nation, with exquisite waterfalls. “It’s a third world country,” Ross explains. “Textiles, shepherds, cool outfits,” he continues to which Ulysses responds, “all a front.”
“Explorers have searched for it… called it El Dorado… they looked for it in South America… but it was in Africa the whole time.”
Wakanda looks like a party village, where men and women are dancing on the side of canyons and some kind of jet hovers and then takes off. “Legend Has It” by Run The Jewels kicks in and Ulysses lets us know he’s the only one who’s ever seen Wakanda and made it out alive, as a group appears to be trying to enter it, but gets attacked by Black Panther. Ulysses laughs crazily and tells T’Challa he can see him through the interrogation mirror.
Boseman chimes in as the jet hovers into a futuristic city, with people wearing strange animal masks and having strange tattoos all over their face and bodies. “The world is changing.” Someone breaks Ulysses out of his room as Boseman continues: “soon there will only be the conquered and the conquerors.” Black Panther without his mask walks with his arms open in a field while Ulysses is now in a yellow reflective vest with a silencer gun.
Michael B. Jordan plays Erik Killmonger, a Wakandan exile who sets out to dethrone T’Challa, and he is shown being walked in cuffs. Then is seems that some is telling T’Challa, “you are a good man, with a good heart. And it’s hard for a good man to be a king,” as a car crashes and he jumps from one flying to car to another. We also get a glimpse of the Dora Milaje, an all-female special forces squad and the personal bodyguards of T’Challa, including Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, T’Challa’s love interest and Danai Gurira (Michonne from The Walking Dead) as Okoye, the head of the group.
The Wikipedia synopsis reads as such: “After the events of Captain America: Civil War, King T’Challa returns home to Wakanda but soon finds his sovereignty challenged by factions within his own country. When two enemies conspire to bring down the kingdom, T’Challa must team up, as the Black Panther, with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje—Wakanda’s special forces—to prevent a world war.”
Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker also star. Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station and Creed) directs. The teaser was unveiled during game four of the NBA Finals.
Release Date: February 16, 2018
Directed By: Ryan Coogler
Studio: Marvel Studios
