This week on the Capes and Tights Podcast, Justin Soderberg and Paul Eaton discuss the 2018 film Black Panther and preview the sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Black Panther premiered on February 16, 2018 to the tune of $1.348 billion at the box office on a $200 million budget. Making the movie one of the most financial successful Marvel Cinematic Universe solo films of all-time, only beaten by Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The 2018 film was directed by Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole, and it stars Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa / Black Panther alongside Michael B. Jordan as N’Jadaka / Erik “Killmonger” Stevens, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Forest Whitaker as Zuri, and Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue.
Black Panther was the 18th film in the MCU and part of the third phase of the universe. The epic score was composed by Ludwig Göransson who went on to make the outstanding score for The Mandalorian. Kendrick Lamar produced the film’s curated soundtrack, Black Panther: The Album, along with Top Dawg Entertainment founder Anthony Tiffith, after Coogler wanted to include original songs from Lamar in the film because his “artistic themes align with those we explore in the film”.
The sequel Wakanda Forever will hit theaters around the world on November 11, 2022 which was also directed by Coogler who co-wrote screenplay once again with Cole. Wright returns along with Nyong’o, Gurira, Duke, Freeman, and Bassett. Adding Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, and Tenoch Huerta. In the film, the leaders of Wakanda fight to protect their nation in the wake of King T’Challa’s death.
Eaton is a regular guest co-host on the Capes and Tights Podcast. He is the owner of Galactic Comics and Collectibles in Bangor, Maine.