Black Panther’s Cast Will Be 90% African Or African-American

 

It’s an exciting time to be a Marvel fan. Comic-book aficionados already knew the studio was moving in a terrific direction with Black Panther, its first superhero film toplined by an African character, by tapping Creed filmmaker Ryan Coogler to co-write and direct.

12 Years a Slave breakout Lupita Nyong’o signed on in the lead female role, then Creed star Michael B. Jordan came aboard in what’s rumored to be a villainous role. That one-two punch of a casting coup, coupled with a lead performance by Chadwick Boseman proven to be awesome by Captain American: Civil War, set the Internet ablaze.

Now, studio head honcho Kevin Feige is re-emphasizing that the cast being put in place for Black Panther is far and away Marvel’s most POC-oriented to date. He said “That will be among the best ensembles we’ve ever had and 90 percent of the cast is either African or African-American.”
Marvel hasn’t been exempt from criticism over its casting calls in the past; it cast the very white Tilda Swinton in the traditionally Asian role of the Ancient One and missed an opportunity to include an Asian superhero by casting Finn Jones as Iron Fist in the upcoming, same-named Netflix series. There’s no way around it: studios balk when it comes to casting actors of color.

In the interview, it was suggested to Feige that Black Panther marks a huge step for Marvel in terms of diversity. His response: “It’s a step that Marvel took many years ago in the comics as well, and it felt like it’s more than due time to do that in the movie.”
Black Panther opens Feb. 16, 2018.