Line #71 Trivia/BlackPanther2018


1	* AbilityOverAppearance: Creator/MichaelBJordan is 6'0"[[note]]1.83m[[/note]] tall compared to the 6'6"[[note]]1.98m[[/note]] height of Killmonger in the comics while also lacking the brutish physique of his comics counterpart. However, Jordan was cast because of his performances in ''Film/FruitvaleStation'' and ''Film/{{Creed\|2015}}''.
2	* ActorInspiredElement: Creator/AngelaBassett came up with the idea of M'Baku barking at Everett Ross when he tries to interject on her family's behalf. Ryan Coogler noted that there wasn't much going on in the scene, and that her observations and suggestion made the scene better.
3	* ActingInTheDark: As per usual with Marvel's movies, not every cast member was given a full script for the film. Denzel Whitaker (young Zuri), for example, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce5am6yJy54 had no idea that the Oakland flashback was two parts]], with [[spoiler:T'Chaka killing N'Jobu]] being shown in Act Two, until he actually saw the film.
4	* AllStarCast: With Creator/ChadwickBoseman as the lead, you have Creator/LupitaNyongo, Creator/ForestWhitaker, Creator/AngelaBassett, Creator/MichaelBJordan, Creator/MartinFreeman, Creator/DanaiGurira, Creator/WinstonDuke, Creator/FlorenceKasumba, Creator/DanielKaluuya, Creator/JohnKani, Creator/SterlingKBrown, and Creator/AndySerkis. [[spoiler:Plus a cameo from Creator/SebastianStan.]]
5	* ApprovalOfGod: Creator/{{Christopher Priest\|Comics}}, widely considered the definitive writer for Black Panther and whose run the film draws heavily on, did a very glowing review of the film.
6	* AuthorsSavingThrow: Creator/MichaelBJordan claimed that he saw this movie as a way for making up to Marvel fans who were disappointed by ''Film/{{Fantastic Four\|2015}}'', which he starred in.[[note]]Ironically, [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously his performance was one of that film's few bright spots]].[[/note]] Given the sheer amount of acclaim he got for this movie, suffice to say that his apology was graciously accepted.
7	* AwesomeDearBoy:
8	** Even when diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016, Creator/ChadwickBoseman was highly enthusiastic about playing T'Challa, and knew the character would become an important icon to black audiences.
9	** Creator/MichaelBJordan took the part because he wanted to play a ruthless villain, as he was getting tired of playing charming {{Nice Guy}}s in all his movies.
10	* CaliforniaDoubling: UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} and its suburbs stood in for most of the international locations in the movie, such as UsefulNotes/{{London}} or UsefulNotes/SouthKorea, as well as the scenes in Oakland.
11	* CelebrityVoiceActor:
12	** In the Japanese dub, Shuri is voiced by Kanako Momota, the lead singer of Music/MomoiroCloverZ.
13	** In the original cast, people only started noticing months after the fact that the AI of Shuri's control system (that Ross uses to destroy the transports) is voiced by Creator/TrevorNoah.
14	* CreatorBacklash:
15	** In an interview after the movie's release, director Creator/RyanCoogler regretted that he had to kill off [[spoiler:Klaue]]. Although Coogler personally enjoyed the character, he couldn't find any way to keep him in without derailing the film's plot.
16	** VFX artist Todd Sheridan Perry shared many viewers' distaste for the final battle between T'Challa and Killmonger, explaining that a decision made by Marvel Studios at the last minute caused a bigger workload for him and other artists to properly finish the visuals in time.
17	* CreatorsFavorite: As detailed in his novel "The Ride of a Lifetime", Disney CEO Creator/BobIger is most proud of this film out of any of the films he's greenlit, as despite receiving pushback from Disney executives and then-chairman of Marvel Entertainment Ike Perlmutter regarding a black-led superhero film doing well at the box office, the movie broke several records and was a cultural phenomenon far beyond what he could have imagined.
18	* DawsonCasting: Shuri is [[https://screenrant.com/black-panther-sister-shuri-smarter-tony-stark/ supposed to be 16]], but Creator/LetitiaWright was 24 during filming.
19	* DeletedScene: [[DeletedScene/MarvelCinematicUniverse See here]].
20	* DyeingForYourArt: Creator/ChadwickBoseman got quite the HeroicBuild... even if the year before he was [[SecretlyDying diagnosed with terminal colon cancer]], meaning his body was not helping (specially considering how aggressive the treatment is).
21	* EditedForSyndication: When the film aired on ABC on August 30, 2020 as a tribute to Chadwick Boseman, the scene near the beginning where Shuri flips T'Challa off was cut due to standards on broadcast networks being much, much stricter than on cable.
22	* EnforcedMethodActing: Creator/MichaelBJordan chose to stay off-set until he was filming his scenes and isolated himself in his personal life, in order to make the hostility and unfamiliarity the other characters feel toward Erik feel more authentic. Jordan would later reveal that this took a huge toll on his mental health to the point that he needed therapy to readjust to being around people once more.
23	* ExecutiveMeddling: If you're wondering why it took so long to get a Black Panther movie, blame Ike Perlmutter -- Kevin Feige wanted one (as well as ''Film/{{Captain Marvel\|2019}}'') much earlier, but Perlmutter refused, allegedly due to believing that a movie with a lead that wasn't a white male wouldn't sell (a belief that rings hollow not only due to the success of ''Film/{{Wonder Woman\|2017}}'', but also when you consider the success of ''Film/BladeTrilogy''), and only agreed to make the movie after Kevin Feige agreed to make an ''ComicBook/{{Inhumans}}'' movie. After Feige was put in a position that doesn't require him to answer to Perlmutter, the ''Inhumans'' movie got put on ice (and reworked into [[Series/{{Inhumans}} a short-lived show]]), and ''Black Panther'' and ''Captain Marvel'' both got pushed up.
24	* FakeAmerican: The very British Creator/MartinFreeman plays American Everett Ross.
25	* FakeNationality:
26	** A given, considering Wakanda ''is'' a fictional country, albeit one [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/6/6d/Wakanda_0003.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100325022034 clearly]] [[http://i.imgur.com/86j0hk1.jpg placed]] in a real world region going by the shot of the map in ''Civil War'' (it's cut out of bits of southern UsefulNotes/{{Ethiopia}} and northern UsefulNotes/{{Kenya}}). Most of the Wakandans were played by African-''American'' actors (namely Creator/ChadwickBoseman, Creator/AngelaBassett, Creator/ForestWhitaker, Creator/WinstonDuke,[[note]]born in Tobago in the southern Caribbean[[/note]] Creator/SterlingKBrown, and Creator/DanaiGurira[[note]]born American, but partially raised in her parents' home country, UsefulNotes/{{Zimbabwe}}[[/note]]) while Creator/DanielKaluuya is British Ugandan,[[note]]though of Ugandan descent, so he is also from the right region ethnically speaking[[/note]] Creator/FlorenceKasumba is German Ugandan,[[note]]meaning that just like Creator/LupitaNyongo mentioned below, she's from the right region, ethnically[[/note]] Creator/JohnKani is South African, and Creator/LetitiaWright is British Black Guyanese. Mexican born American raised Kenyan Creator/LupitaNyongo is the only main actress to actually be from the region. Arguably counts as RaceLift as well, since African-Americans and Black Caribbeans are descended primarily from west and central Africans, who differ ''significantly'' in terms of genetics from east Africans.
27	** Creator/AndySerkis, who is a Brit of Iraqi-Armenian descent, is playing an [[UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica Afrikaner]], an ethnic group primarily descended from the Dutch.
28	* IAmNotSpock: Several of the cast members, including Creator/ChadwickBoseman and Creator/MichaelBJordan, became tired of the constant requests to do the Wakandan salute. It got to point where Jordan mentioned that he never does the salute in the movie and later joked while accepting an Creator/{{MTV}} award that Chadwick had told him to tell the crowd to stop asking him to do it.
29	* InMemoriam:
30	** In the weekend following Boseman's passing, ABC altered their Sunday (August 30) evening programming for the film that was prefaced with five minutes of behind-the-scenes footage of Boseman's MCU career that ended with "You Will Always Be Our King". Following the film, a program hosted by Robin Roberts aired, ''Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King''.
31	** On November 29 2020, what would have been Boseman's 44th birthday, the Marvel Studios logo for this film[[note]]at least on the Disney+ stream service[[/note]] was changed from the usual clips of various Marvel characters and previous MCU movies to film clips and artwork of Boseman and T'Challa/Black Panther, similar to how they changed the studio logo in ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' for Stan Lee.
32	* InspirationForTheWork: Coogler's work on this film was influenced by the works of Creator/FrancisFordCoppola in the 1970s, as well as that of crime fiction. He also watched the film ''Film/AProphet'' for inspiration.
33	* IronyAsSheIsCast:
34	** (African-)American Denzel Whitaker plays an African character posing as a FakeAmerican.
35	** Okoye loathes having to wear wigs. Creator/DanaiGurira got her StarMakingRole by [[Series/TheWalkingDead2010 wearing very long ones]].
36	** King T'Chaka being played by [[TimeShiftedActor father and son actors]], considering that the film is deeply fueled by SinsOfOurFathers directly because of the character's actions.
37	* LifeImitatesArt: The royal costume of T'Challa worn when he was sitting in his throne looks a lot like ''baju koko'' (a type of shirt predominantly worn by Muslims) and thus inspired Indonesian designs of ''baju koko'' which can be [[https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2018/03/01/dress-like-a-wakandan-black-panther-setting-a-fashion-trend-in-indonesia/ found in online shops across Indonesia]].
38	* MeaningfulReleaseDate: The film was the first MCU release in the month of February, which, in the United States, happens to be Black History Month.
39	* MemeAcknowledgement: Wright foresaw how popular Shuri's "WHAT ARE THOOOSE?" scene was going to be and joked that she is currently making sure her sneaker game is on point to avoid the line being used against her.
40	* MissingTrailerScene: Ross saying he's never seen anything like Wakanda with [[ContinuityNod nods to other MCU entries]] is not in the final film.
41	* MultipleLanguagesSameVoiceActor: Creator/FlorenceKasumba dubs herself in the German dub.
42	* TheOtherDarrin: In the European French dub, Saïd Amadis replaced ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'''s Creator/MedHondo as King T'Chaka.
43	* PetFadStarter: The film is attributed to causing a boost in black cat adoptions.
44	* PlayingAgainstType:
45	** This is Jordan's first villain role, a marked contrast from his [[Film/FantasticFour2015 last major superhero movie]], where he played the Human Torch. It can also be seen as PlayingWithCharacterType in his case, given that many of his character's mannerisms are villainous spins on the same traits that he's had in other roles.
46	** In terms of directing, this is the first time that Coogler has handled a big-budget superhero movie. Prior to ''Black Panther'', Coogler's work (''Film/FruitvaleStation'' and ''Film/{{Creed\|2015}}'') have been lower-budget, realistic films.
47	* ProductionPosse:
48	** Jordan, who starred in Coogler's previous [[Film/FruitvaleStation two]] [[Film/Creed2015 films]], plays the villain here.
49	** Coogler has also brought on Rachel Morrison as cinematographer (who previously worked on ''Fruitvale''), Ludwig Goransson as composer and Michael P. Shawver and Claudia Castello as editors (all of whom previously worked on ''Fruitvale'' and ''Creed'').
50	* RealLifeRelative:
51	** Creator/JohnKani (who plays old King T'Chaka) and Atandwa Kani (younger King T'Chaka) are father and son, respectively.
52	** Juan Antonio Edwards (the Latin American voice for Everett K. Ross) and Erica Edwards (the LA voice for the museum director) are father and daughter, respectively. Juan's ex-son-in-law (and Erica's cousin), Creator/ArturoMercadoJr, voices N'Jobu.
53	** Funny enough, this is averted for older Zuri (Creator/ForestWhitaker) and younger Zuri (Denzel Whitaker). Though they share the same last name and similar physical appearance (right down to Forest's notorious lazy eye), these two actors are not related... but it is eerie just how much they resemble one another.
54	* RealitySubtext:
55	** The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party Black Panther party]], a Black nationalist organization that [[UsefulNotes/AmericanGunPolitics boldly asserted its right to bear arms]], originated in UsefulNotes/{{Oakland}}, CA. The film opens in Oakland, with N'Jobu forming a Black nationalist organization and building an arsenal of Wakandan weaponry.[[note]]The Black Panther character actually predates the formation of the party (the first comic was in 1965 while the party was founded in 1966), and the name is just a coincidence. Marvel once tried renaming the character to "Black Leopard" for a brief period to avoid association, but soon reasoned that they had used the name first and thus had better claim to it.[[/note]]
56	** [[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-miller-black-panther-ally_us_5a92ac97e4b03b55731d1442 More than one]] [[https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/black-panther/271289/how-black-panther-creates-a-model-for-good-allyship article]] has been written on how Agent Ross provides a model of "allyship," a social-justice term for someone trying to help a minority fight against oppression despite not being a member ''of'' said minority. A lot of allies, both in fiction and in RealLife, end up acting as though ItsAllAboutMe. Ross, on the other hand, is willing to listen about the things he doesn't know; keeps and stays out of tradition not meant for him or circumstances he isn't useful in; takes orders from the Wakandans without hesitation; uses his skills and privilege (combat piloting) where ''they'' tell him they need it; and doesn't demand praise or accolades afterwards (in fact, after his thread of the FinalBattle is wrapped up, he just plain disappears until TheStinger).
57	* TheRedStapler: [[https://www.wbur.org/bostonomix/2018/04/06/black-panther-african-clothing-boom Several African clothing retailers saw sales significantly increase after the film was released]], thanks to fans wanting to buy clothes similar to what the characters wear.
58	* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: Creator/WesleySnipes began campaigning for a Black Panther film in 1992, and even after he was cast in the Film/BladeTrilogy, the project was still in various stages of production throughout most of TheNineties and the TurnOfTheMillennium. Avi Arad announced a Black Panther movie as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe way back in 2005, but nothing came of it until late 2014.
59	* SeparatedAtBirthCasting: Denzel Whitaker (the younger Zuri) looks a lot like Creator/ForestWhitaker (Zuri in the present day). Unlike the T'Chaka actors above, they are unrelated despite the same surnames.
60	* ShortRunInPeru: The film was released a bit sooner in other countries than its February 16 American date. Notably, February 14 in France.
61	* StarMakingRole:
62	** Wright and Duke (but the former mostly) are considered as the film's breakout stars (the rest of the cast are already well-known and established). This is, however, regarded as the role that solidified Boseman as a major star.
63	** The same happens in the Japanese dub, as it was the first leading role for the voice actor of the titular protagonist, Makoto Tamura, alongside [[Anime/MegaloBox Tatsumi Leonard Aragaki]].
64	* TroubledProduction: Shooting on the Warrior Falls set turned into a bit of a nightmare due to the water reflecting both sunlight and on-set lights much more intensely than anticipated. This led to nearly every actor experiencing vision problems on the first day, with Creator/DanielKaluuya even being rushed to hospital with sunburns on his eyes. To deal with this, actors would put on sunglasses as soon as each take was completed while crew rushed onto set to cover the water with a tarp to prevent reflections while things were being reset.
65	* UncreditedRole: Creator/SebastianStan is uncredited for his cameo as Bucky Barnes in the post-credits scene.
66	* UnderageCasting: Creator/MichaelBJordan was born in 1987, but Killmonger's younger TimeShiftedActor during 1992 is clearly middle school aged, meaning Killmonger is older than Jordan by at least three years.
67	* VoiceOnlyCameo: Creator/TrevorNoah gives his voice to "Griot", Shuri's AI system which is only really heard through the battle.
68	* WagTheDirector: Boseman ended up having a lot of say in how Wakanda would be presented in the film, and a lot of his contributions from participating in auditions to critiquing drafts of the script (an early draft had Killmonger asked to be buried in Wakanda but Boseman's suggestion of something different led to the iconic line about "death being better than bondage") ended up in what we got in the final product.
69	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
70	** Creator/ChadLColeman, Creator/JohnBoyega and Creator/NoelClarke were considered for the role of [[ComicBook/BlackPanther T'Challa]] before the casting of Creator/ChadwickBoseman.
71	*** Creator/AnthonyMackie, Creator/DjimonHounsou, Creator/ChiwetelEjiofor and Creator/AdewaleAkinnuoyeAgbaje were also considered for the part of Black Panther before the casting of Boseman. Hounsou previously voiced the titular character in ''WesternAnimation/BlackPanther2010''. All four actors would go on to portray other characters within the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse with Mackie as [[ComicBook/TheFalcon Sam Wilson]] in ''Trivia/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer in ''Film/{{Guardians Of The Galaxy\|2014}}'', Ejiofor as Baron Mordo in ''Film/{{Doctor Strange\|2016}}'' and Agbaje as Kurse in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''.
72	*** Creator/WesleySnipes wanted to play Black Panther ever since Marvel approached him with the project in 1992. Creator/JohnSingleton was briefly considered as director, but the movie never materialized due to various CreativeDifferences. Snipes would later go on to portray ComicBook/{{Blade}} in the ''Film/BladeTrilogy'' and while he always kept his interest in a Black Panther film, it never happened due to disagreements over the script.
73	** Creator/SterlingKBrown, Creator/MustafaShakir and Creator/YahyaAbdulMateenII auditioned for the role of M'Baku before Creator/WinstonDuke was cast. Brown would later go on to play N'Jobu in the film, while Shakir and Mateen II would portray Bushmaster and Simon Williams in ''Series/{{Luke Cage\|2016}}'' and ''Comicbook/WonderMan'' respectively.
74	** Creator/AmandlaStenberg and Creator/DominiqueThorne auditioned for the part of Shuri before the casting of Creator/LetitiaWright. Stenberg dropped out from the project [[http://www.cbc.ca/arts/5-things-you-should-probably-know-about-amandla-stenberg-1.4549677 because she recognized that a darker-skinned actress would be more appropriate.]]. Thorne would eventually play [[ComicBook/{{Ironheart}} Riri Williams]] in ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever''.
75	** Creator/ErnieHudson was considered for the role of T'Chaka before Creator/JohnKani was cast, but was turned down as the character wasn't considered big enough for him.
76	** Creator/AvaDuVernay, Creator/AntoineFuqua and Creator/FGaryGray were approached to direct the film before Creator/RyanCoogler was hired. [=DuVernay=] turned it down because she wasn't comfortable with not having total creative control, while Gray declined in order to helm ''Film/TheFateOfTheFurious''. Gray was previously considered to direct ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' before Creator/TheRussoBrothers were hired.
77	** Nabiyah Be announced on Website/{{Twitter}} that she was playing Tilda Johnson/Nightshade in the film. Just one month later, however, Gabrielle Dennis was cast as Nightshade in ''Series/{{Luke Cage\|2016}}'', and Be's tweet was deleted. In the film itself, Be's character is credited as "Linda".
78	** Creator/RyanCoogler and Joe Robert Cole toyed around with the idea of [[https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2305062/the-cool-marvel-comics-character-ryan-coogler-considered-for-black-panther introducing Patriot]] from the ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'', but ultimately felt it would distract from the main story.
79	** Coogler also wished to add Spider-Man villain Kraven the Hunter to the movie, though due to legal issues regarding the deal with Sony, he couldn't feature him.
80	** The concept art reveals that at some point, Shuri was going to have made her own Black Panther suit.
81	** The initial assembly cut of the film (which is in no way to be considered a watchable version despite the implications by media outlets reporting on it) was ''four hours long''.[[note]]Granted, [[https://collider.com/assembly-cut-explained/ virtually all big studio films go through this process]] and end up with similar if not longer runtimes, so it's not at all unusual.[[/note]] The final cut is 2h 15m. Regardless, even in more completed versions of the film, a ''lot'' of material ended up of the cutting room floor before final release, including some stuff that Coogler really wanted to keep (four of which did end up on the DVD release):
82	** Namor the Sub-Mariner was planned to be introduced in one of the film's credit scenes, but it had to be scrapped due to Marvel having not reclaimed the rights to the character yet. Namor would eventually appear as the main antagonist for ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever''.
83	** The four deleted DVD scenes that were all said to have been cut due to issues related to pacing:
84	*** Chronologically, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQAeChRX5GY first]] was a scene that would've taken place early in the film, featuring a young T'Challa and Nakia playing in the catacombs near the temple of the heart-shaped herb garden, where they find T'Chaka mulling over his actions earlier that evening regarding his brother N'Jobu.
85	*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0DmOZ8shdY next scene]] would've occurred after T'Challa's first visit to the Ancestral Plane and reuniting with his father there. Following the ceremony, T'Challa and Zuri have a quiet conversation where they reminisce about T'Chaka.
86	*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BweDs1eXhVY third (and seemingly the fan favorite, even by Coogler himself) scene]] occurs after Killmonger's first meeting as king with the tribal council, featuring Okoye and W'Kabi arguing about their different perspectives on the coup and Killmonger's plans for the country.
87	*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usvvUDAMfno final scene]] would've been a preamble to T'Challa's mid-credits speech at the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations, where he meets with Everett Ross who warns against revealing Wakanda's true nature to the world for the first time.
88	*** There was also a flirtatious interaction between Okoye and Ayo during T'Challa's coronation ceremony that was shot and shown to media reporters alongside other footage early in production at an exclusive press event, but was ultimately cut from the film without any stated reason.
89	** Originally, the Jabari tribe’s BigDamnHeroes moment in the climax involved only male Jabari warriors rescuing Shuri, Nakia, and the Dora Milaje. When editor Debbie Berman pointed out that this does not fit the [[FeministFantasy established portrayal]] of the female characters, Creator/RyanCoogler [[DoingItForTheArt shot scenes]] with a female Jabari warrior being the first to break through the Border Tribe’s shields.
90	* WordOfGod:
91	** Director Coogler [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/black-panther-what-happened-killmongers-mother-1108754 confirmed]] that Killmonger's mother died in prison and the plan that N'Jobu and Zuri talk about at the start of the movie is a plan to break her out.
92	** Coogler explained that [[Music/ChildishGambino Donald Glover]] is to blame for Shuri's "WHAT ARE THOOOOSE?!" line, as Glover was given the script to critique.
93	** Jordan claims that Killmonger's "battle vest" wasn't an ''intentional'' [[Franchise/DragonBall Vegeta]] reference, but he and Coogler are both anime fans, which would explain where the image came from.

Context Trivia / BlackPanther2018