In less than two weeks, Marvel Studios is set to pull back the curtain on Wakanda with the release of its latest superhero blockbuster Black Panther.
Given that the movie is the final stop before May’s Avengers: Infinity War, and we’re still one Infinity Stone down, it would seem to make sense that the Ryan Coogler-directed solo movie could serve as some kind of prelude to Infinity War, setting the stage for the Avengers’ big showdown with Thanos.
Well, it seems that isn’t going to be the case, with Marvel producer Nate Moore revealing to Screen Rant that while it will have its connections to the wider MCU, the focus is firmly on delivering a satisfying standalone story for Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa.
“I think it’s inherently linked because of the Civil War connections and because of the Ultron connections with Klaue,” said Moore. “So there are strings that we are playing with. But again, much like Doctor Strange, we felt this had enough storytelling that it could stand alone beyond those things. We wanted to give Ryan the freedom to tell a story that wasn’t relying on other things that were happening in the MCU. Now that doesn’t mean what happens in the film won’t have ripples in the MCU but the film itself isn’t relying on other plot points in the MCU.”
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That will surely be music to the ears of Black Panther fans, and of course it’s still likely that we’ll see some set-up and lead-in to Infinity War, just not as the film’s primary focus. At the very least, you’d have to assume that one of the film’s post-credits scenes will look to set the stage for May’s superhero extravaganza.
After the events of Captain America: Civil War, King T’Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new leader. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from factions within his own country. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must team up with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakandan special forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
Black Panther sees Ryan Coogler (Creed) directing Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa alongside Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Forest Whitaker as Zuri, Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Florence Kasumba as Ayo, Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Sterling K. Brown as N’Jobu, JoOhn Kani as King T’Chaka and Nabiyah Be as Nightshade. The film is set for release on February 12th in the UK and on February 16th in the States.
