Black Superheroes Movies - Part 2

[DarKush]

I Agree. A predominantly black action movie of any kind is a rare animal. Hell outside of Blaxploitation I can't think of any black action heroes who have headlined successful franchises.

I believe that a black superhero movie done right can be successful. However, the overall sentiment on this thread is that such a movie should have racism/civil rights aspects removed from the story.

I think that, with, T'Challa specifically there is an opportunity to create a symbol to which African-Americans can relate that Cap and Thor fail represent. Having a black superhero that doesn't address racial inequality, I think, will automatically invalidate that individual in the eyes of many people. You might argue that race should not be an issue but it IS at the very heart of a great many injustices. Isn't that exactly the type of things our heroes should be standing against?

When BP debuted in 1966 it was in direct response to the growing Black Power/Civil Rights movement. It was a bold move by Marvel but ultimately a missed opportunity as Marvel chose to take a "colorblind" approach to civil rights. Admirable, but a cop-out when you consider they were using a black superhero specifically to capitalize on a societal shift driven by blacks. Handled correctly BP could have represented the very positive aspects of the civil rights movement while standing in opposition of the violence that accompanied it. But the opportunity was missed and I don't believe black America ever fully embraced the Panther as a heroic representation of their ideals.

Adapting BP's origin to film and addressing these issues head on with very little sugarcoating could make this story relevant and resonant.

Now I am not suggesting that BP should spend his entire movie beating on whitey. I am suggesting that the issue of race be handled in a mature fashion by a ruler of an enlightened African nation.

I agree with a lot of what you said. I don't think colorblindness or deracialization works. Race remains an elephant in the room, so why run away from it? Why this rush to make Panther a generic superhero, robbing him of his unique history and background on the hopes that it will make white theater goers feel more comfortable? And that is a might.

Whether we like it or not, race will play a role throughout a BP film from the writing, casting, marketing, and eventually the box office, so why not realize that and deal with it? I don't think a BP movie needs to dwell on race, but I don't want one that acts like race doesn't exist either. I think in the comics Priest and Hudlin found ways to address race without making or acknowledging racial greviances against whites (because that is what I think people really mean when they say stuff like 'injecting race') the central aspect of each story.

The creation of Ross was an acknowledgement of how Panther's race might affect his sales so Priest threw a white guy in there that white fanboys might be able to relate to, and Priest did some occassional racial humor to make them feel at ease,though the humor wasn't at too much at the expense of BP, because ultimately Ross highlighted how badass Panther was. My fear is that in a move, the Ross character or another white equivalent will become the main character or the hero like Bateman did in Hancock.

 

[DarKush]

^
As for the love interest, I think a black superhero film will be unique in that they might can forgo the love interest more easily. I don't know if there is much white interest in seeing blacks in romantic or sexual situations (esp. if they are not debased) anyway so a love interest might not be needed. Most of the Denzel and Will Smith films portray asexual heroes or the sex is implied or left off screen. The romance is sometimes left off screen too.

Though Hollywood should be mindful that a love interest might get more support from black female fans though. And the black female dollar has helped make Tyler Perry a player in Hollywood, IMO, so it wouldn't hurt to cater to that audience.

Granted we could perhaps get an interracial relationship, but that might carry its own burdens. If the movie was about Shuri I don't think they would have a problem finding a white suitor for her. I doubt they would give T'Challa a white love interest, so maybe Latina, Asian, or another non-white actress.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Why not black if he has to have one at all?

 

[marcvader]

The only white characters I think can or should be used is obviously Klaw and some of his henchmen, big name actor for Klaw, maybe a UN ambassador or liaison, and college professor or school mate.

It would be cool to see Cap recruiting T'challa to join the Avengers at the end.

 

[DrCosmic]

The creation of Ross was an acknowledgement of how Panther's race might affect his sales so Priest threw a white guy in there that white fanboys might be able to relate to, and Priest did some occassional racial humor to make them feel at ease,though the humor wasn't at too much at the expense of BP, because ultimately Ross highlighted how badass Panther was. My fear is that in a move, the Ross character or another white equivalent will become the main character or the hero like Bateman did in Hancock.

Prezactly. Another more extreme example is Sam and Optimus in Transformers. Because the filmmakers can't count on the audience to connect with the actual hero, they make an ubersidekick, even so much as to be the one who saves Optimus in the end of the film, and certainly the only one with a character arc. I'd rather it lean towards X-Men, like Wolverine and Rogue, with T'Challa also being half way out of the loop, so the audience can take the journey with him, even though Rogue is the 'window' into the world, Wolverine is the window into this particular corner of it. Blade had an arc, small as it was, and Whistler was not the hero, he simply had a moment to validate him as a cool character.

^
As for the love interest, I think a black superhero film will be unique in that they might can forgo the love interest more easily. I don't know if there is much white interest in seeing blacks in romantic or sexual situations (esp. if they are not debased) anyway so a love interest might not be needed. Most of the Denzel and Will Smith films portray asexual heroes or the sex is implied or left off screen. The romance is sometimes left off screen too.

Though Hollywood should be mindful that a love interest might get more support from black female fans though. And the black female dollar has helped make Tyler Perry a player in Hollywood, IMO, so it wouldn't hurt to cater to that audience.

Granted we could perhaps get an interracial relationship, but that might carry its own burdens. If the movie was about Shuri I don't think they would have a problem finding a white suitor for her. I doubt they would give T'Challa a white love interest, so maybe Latina, Asian, or another non-white actress.

That's a very good point. When black on black romance is in play it's all of a sudden a "black movie," and not for them. That may be why I was thinking of Monica Lynne being ambiguously biracial. As much as the Black female dollar is nothing to play with, women don't always turn out to action movies.

Perhaps Shuri and Everett K Ross can carry the romantic arc for the film. Radical, but does that make sense? Masses don't have to feel like its a black film, women don't have to feel like its a guy movie.

 

[DarKush]

^
Some interesting points. Hadn't thought about the Wolverine/Rogue relationship quite like that, but I can see what you're saying. Regarding T'Challa I am okay with the idea of a white gateway character, so long as that character doesn't take over the film. If they can use that character to actually big up T'Challa and show his ultimate humanity and heroism, like I think Priest did with Ross, then I'm all for that, if having a white gateway character is what will get white people and maybe other non-blacks into the theater.

Though my preference would be that T'Challa could be that gateway character himself, which is what I think Hudlin was trying to do by putting BP front and center. It is my naive hope that we wouldn't need to have a white character validate him or vouch for him, but I fear that's probably not true.

With Monica Lynne I don't have a problem with a biracial actress being cast, though I don't think that gets around the intraracial 'problem', since I think many biracial actresses would still be considered black by many whites and blacks. If Lynne was in the film I would be crass and cynical about it and try to get a black music star like Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, or Leona Lewis. Christina Millian, Anika Noni Rose, or Samantha Mumba are not well known enough for my purposes, but I would go with some 'stunt' casting to get some buzz for the film. Though I wouldn't mind seeing Kerry Washington, Tika Sumpter, Meagan Good, or Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the Lynne role, especially Gugu.

I guess a Shuri-Ross angle could happen, though I can't see Shuri-from the comics-liking Ross, but that could be changed in a movie. However I rather like the triangle idea that Priest brought up with Ross-T'Challa-and Ross's boss (though it really wasn't a triangle since T'Challa had moved on, it was more an issue of Ross's insecurities).

 

[E-Man]

Here's a left field angle that could actually work in a BP movie. What abou Red Skull as a villain? Both are under the same studio banner, and I could think up a lot of reasons why T'Challa and Red Skull would bump heads. You can even have a Cap conversation where T'Challa and Steve are discussing how to deal with the Red Skull.

 

[Anubis]

How about he rips Red Skulls jaw off like he did in the comics in an Avengers Sequel?

 

[E-Man]

"I told you Skull, but your kind never listens..." KRAK

*everyone on crowd cheers while Rush Assbaugh does a report on how the Black Panther movie is reverse racism*

 

[DarKush]

Here's a left field angle that could actually work in a BP movie. What abou Red Skull as a villain? Both are under the same studio banner, and I could think up a lot of reasons why T'Challa and Red Skull would bump heads. You can even have a Cap conversation where T'Challa and Steve are discussing how to deal with the Red Skull.

What if they did a movie based on the WW2-era Flags of our Fathers? Featuring an earlier Black Panther, against Red Skull. That way they could bring in Captain America and the Howling Commandos, removing the 'stigma' of a majority black cast.

I thought Flags was pretty good. It touched on the racism of the time but that wasn't the stories central focus. Gabe Jones was used as the gateway character to some extent, so that was nice, seeing a black American view of Wakanda. And that era Black Panther (Azzari?) was just as badass as T'Challa IMO.

 

[tamron]

If they did a BP w/ Cap in WWII angle, I'd prefer it be in a Captain America movie. Putting them in a Black Panther movie would basically make BP a supporting character in his own film, because the other characters have greater recognizance to the general public. Their appearance would then be marketed to capitalize on that, thereby diminishing BP.

Also, Evans has a 6 picture deal and has said cameos would count towards that number, so he's basically gonna do 3 Avengers and 3 Caps. Might as well capitalize on that if you're gonna go that route and just make it Cap's film.

 

[DrCosmic]

^
Some interesting points. Hadn't thought about the Wolverine/Rogue relationship quite like that, but I can see what you're saying. Regarding T'Challa I am okay with the idea of a white gateway character, so long as that character doesn't take over the film. If they can use that character to actually big up T'Challa and show his ultimate humanity and heroism, like I think Priest did with Ross, then I'm all for that, if having a white gateway character is what will get white people and maybe other non-blacks into the theater.

Though my preference would be that T'Challa could be that gateway character himself, which is what I think Hudlin was trying to do by putting BP front and center. It is my naive hope that we wouldn't need to have a white character validate him or vouch for him, but I fear that's probably not true.

With Monica Lynne I don't have a problem with a biracial actress being cast, though I don't think that gets around the intraracial 'problem', since I think many biracial actresses would still be considered black by many whites and blacks. If Lynne was in the film I would be crass and cynical about it and try to get a black music star like Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Rihanna, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, or Leona Lewis. Christina Millian, Anika Noni Rose, or Samantha Mumba are not well known enough for my purposes, but I would go with some 'stunt' casting to get some buzz for the film. Though I wouldn't mind seeing Kerry Washington, Tika Sumpter, Meagan Good, or Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the Lynne role, especially Gugu.

I guess a Shuri-Ross angle could happen, though I can't see Shuri-from the comics-liking Ross, but that could be changed in a movie. However I rather like the triangle idea that Priest brought up with Ross-T'Challa-and Ross's boss (though it really wasn't a triangle since T'Challa had moved on, it was more an issue of Ross's insecurities).

This is all very true. I guess I was thinking of someone like Rashida Jones or a younger Maya Rudolph, someone who wasn't always (ever?) viewed as black. I think Kerry Washington would be a great choice, from the acting side, but I also feel like it would be a waste of that African accent she's been nursing. I'd rather see her as Nakia or Shuri for that reason. I feel like casting a singer (man I miss Alicia Keys) would be a good idea if Monica isn't quite the female lead, that Shuri plays as big or a bigger role.

I see a gateway Everett on Wakandan turf kind of like a terrified, socially inept type that T'Challa helps bring up to speed, even makes a bit of a hero out of him, and that burgeoning part is what turns Shuri's dismissive jesting of him into romantic tinglies and such. It's hard to not have a gateway take over the film if the title character doesn't have a significant arc, or their arc is dependent on the gateway, like in Hancock. But it can be done, especially if the main character is a gateway in and of himself, assuming what we're seeing through that smaller gateway is cool, like the X-Mansion, and not a weird symbiotic angel/gods thing like what Hancock learned.

The reason I don't think T'Challa can be a complete gateway, per se, is that he is already initiated into the world. When M'Baka steps out with his man-ape getup, there's no question in T'Challa's mind about what's going on. No chance for exposition. There has to be someone there to explain what the heck is going to, and to react to the new information, and that person is by definition the gateway for the audience narratively. The less T'Challa knows about the country of his birth, the more he works as a gateway, but I don't think he's the same character if he's too aloof from his own people.

Hmmm... unless the movie is constantly narrated by T'Challa, so we can get those thought boxes. That'd be interesting.

By the by, did anyone chime in on Wakanda's Technology level? What should it be?

 

[baerrtt]

I Agree. A predominantly black action movie of any kind is a rare animal. Hell outside of Blaxploitation I can't think of any black action heroes who have headlined successful franchises.

I believe that a black superhero movie done right can be successful. However, the overall sentiment on this thread is that such a movie should have racism/civil rights aspects removed from the story.

I think that, with, T'Challa specifically there is an opportunity to create a symbol to which African-Americans can relate that Cap and Thor fail represent. Having a black superhero that doesn't address racial inequality, I think, will automatically invalidate that individual in the eyes of many people. You might argue that race should not be an issue but it IS at the very heart of a great many injustices. Isn't that exactly the type of things our heroes should be standing against?

When BP debuted in 1966 it was in direct response to the growing Black Power/Civil Rights movement. It was a bold move by Marvel but ultimately a missed opportunity as Marvel chose to take a "colorblind" approach to civil rights. Admirable, but a cop-out when you consider they were using a black superhero specifically to capitalize on a societal shift driven by blacks. Handled correctly BP could have represented the very positive aspects of the civil rights movement while standing in opposition of the violence that accompanied it. But the opportunity was missed and I don't believe black America ever fully embraced the Panther as a heroic representation of their ideals.

Adapting BP's origin to film and addressing these issues head on with very little sugarcoating could make this story relevant and resonant.

Now I am not suggesting that BP should spend his entire movie beating on whitey. I am suggesting that the issue of race be handled in a mature fashion by a ruler of an enlightened African nation.

The Beverly Hills Cop movies are probably the best example outside of Blaxploitation with sequels that are certainly more action oriented than comedic.

 

[E-Man]

If they did a BP w/ Cap in WWII angle, I'd prefer it be in a Captain America movie. Putting them in a Black Panther movie would basically make BP a supporting character in his own film, because the other characters have greater recognizance to the general public. Their appearance would then be marketed to capitalize on that, thereby diminishing BP.

Also, Evans has a 6 picture deal and has said cameos would count towards that number, so he's basically gonna do 3 Avengers and 3 Caps. Might as well capitalize on that if you're gonna go that route and just make it Cap's film.

You bring up a great point here. If they did do this in a BP movie it would end up like Blade:Trinity where the lead guy takes a back seat to others in the cast. It would basically be Captain America 2.1, so if they did the story it should be a shared movie or in Cap's film.

 

[chamber-music]

Not really a black superhero movie post but it features a up and coming black director and alot of peoples favourite choice for the role of Black Panther Chiwetel Ejiofor.

There is no greater arthouse bromance right now than the one between director Steve McQueen and actor Michael Fassbender. The duo first paired up on “Hunger,” which brought them both some considerable attention, and this year they are dominating the fall movie chatter with the NC-17 sex-addiction drama “Shame.” They’ve already lined up their next collaboration, “Twelve Years A Slave,” which also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, and now one of the biggest actors in the world is lining up to join them.

Brad Pitt, who is producing the film via his Plan B shingle, and has been developing the project for years, is taking a role as well. It can be easy to confuse which films the actor is producing or starring in—or both—however, this news cropped up in a recent Screen Daily report about the project, and Plan B told us that the trade story was accurate, though they could not provide any further details.

Co-written by McQueen and John Ridley (”Bobby,” “Three Kings&#8221, the movie is based on the 1853 autobiography written by Solomon Northup, a free black man who was tricked into slavery. Educated, married and living in New York, Northup was lured by a job offer in Washington only to be kidnapped and put in a slave pen, leading to years of enslavement under various owners. He finally earned back his freedom when a white Canadian carpenter who opposed slavery smuggled letters to Northup’s wife, which helped launch a court case that eventually set him free.

River Road is now on board to co-produce, with Summit International to handle sales at the American Film Market next month. This will mark another team up between Pitt and the two companies following Terrence Malick‘s “The Tree Of Life.” Filming is slated to begin in 2012.

 

[DrCosmic]

Ejiofor is the man. The only reason I'd pick Elba over him is to sell tickets.

I Agree. A predominantly black action movie of any kind is a rare animal. Hell outside of Blaxploitation I can't think of any black action heroes who have headlined successful franchises.

I believe that a black superhero movie done right can be successful. However, the overall sentiment on this thread is that such a movie should have racism/civil rights aspects removed from the story.

I think that, with, T'Challa specifically there is an opportunity to create a symbol to which African-Americans can relate that Cap and Thor fail represent. Having a black superhero that doesn't address racial inequality, I think, will automatically invalidate that individual in the eyes of many people. You might argue that race should not be an issue but it IS at the very heart of a great many injustices. Isn't that exactly the type of things our heroes should be standing against?

When BP debuted in 1966 it was in direct response to the growing Black Power/Civil Rights movement. It was a bold move by Marvel but ultimately a missed opportunity as Marvel chose to take a "colorblind" approach to civil rights. Admirable, but a cop-out when you consider they were using a black superhero specifically to capitalize on a societal shift driven by blacks. Handled correctly BP could have represented the very positive aspects of the civil rights movement while standing in opposition of the violence that accompanied it. But the opportunity was missed and I don't believe black America ever fully embraced the Panther as a heroic representation of their ideals.

Adapting BP's origin to film and addressing these issues head on with very little sugarcoating could make this story relevant and resonant.

Now I am not suggesting that BP should spend his entire movie beating on whitey. I am suggesting that the issue of race be handled in a mature fashion by a ruler of an enlightened African nation.

I think by creating a figure that African Americans can relate to on a cultural level you run a high chance of creating a figure that others cannot. Especially in a society that is taught that black people hate white people, and vice versa. How do you deal with racism directly without beating Whitey? If you're dealing with the subject honestly, there's plenty blame to lay there, even the system by which blacks oppress each other is a deliberate construct, and is the most relevant racial issue in existence, imho.

Generally, a successful action movie with deep themes coats them in subtlety. Thick subtlety. Because people don't come to these things to think. They *do* appreciate well thought out movies more, and the resonance and ability to have those refrigerator logic realizations is appealing, but only if the masses don't really understand how deep you're being at the moment. As soon as they feel 'preached to' they're out. The exceptions, like AVATAR have good reasons for not being sunk by the cries of 'preachiness.'

I think race can be addressed, and some racial humor, to show we're not afraid of it, would be awesome. I think the characters can be metaphors for the black experience, I don't think we can lampshade it though, or else the white audience will see themselves on the evil side of the conflict, as opposed to T'Challa's.

 

[E-Man]

Not really a black superhero movie post but it features a up and coming black director and alot of peoples favourite choice for the role of Black Panther Chiwetel Ejiofor.

I'm sure Ejiofor will do a fantastic job, but I'm sick of these types of historical movies involving black people. It's always some people in slavery needing help from some white man or something. I know Ejiofor was attached to play Toussaint in that one movie Danny Glover was trying to get financed, yet that's hard as hell for them to do. But a man who gets tricked into slavery and needs a white man to help him out? Oh hell yeah. Let's go ahead and do that over the movie about the slaves who kicked the French out of Haiti.

 

[chamber-music]

Well to be fair this movie is based on a true story so it actully happened.

 

[tamron]

Not really a black superhero movie post but it features a up and coming black director and alot of peoples favourite choice for the role of Black Panther Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Not to turn the convo into a BP casting thread, but I think Ejiofor is most people's choice because he's a known African actor, with some geek cred (Firefly/Serenity).

However, imho, there's no better pick out there for Black Panther than Tongayi Chirisa.

His biggest US role to date was as Friday in NBC's Crusoe. Here is a clip reel from that role:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M69FEC7HCbA

He fits in the same way Hemsworth did for Thor. Right look, right age, he is African, good actor and should be aminable to a franchise. Just get a great cast and script around him and it's money.

Ejiofor is a fanastic actor, I like him a lot. But no matter how hard I try, I just can't see him as the Black Panther.

My next question, since its been raised: How techy is Wakanda here? What is the architecture style? Are we talking about the Coruscant-like kingdom we saw in Hudlin's run? Or the Neo-Egypt from the cartoon? Grass huts that happen to be reinforced with vibranium? When T'Challa and company crest the hill, or pull back the leaves, what's the big splash of spectacle they see?

I think there should be a mix of the old and new. Villages and buildings. the Coruscant-like look could work well. In the first film just kind of show that there is a mixture. That way if we get a Panther 2, the framework is quietly laid for a Killmonger or an M'Baku to make a run at Panther for betraying "the old ways".

Two of the visual spectacles we should see when we pull back should be the Panther god totem and vibranium mound.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[RockSP]

Ejiofor is a fanastic actor, I like him a lot. But no matter how hard I try, I just can't see him as the Black Panther.

I agree.

 

[DrCosmic]

I'm sure Ejiofor will do a fantastic job, but I'm sick of these types of historical movies involving black people. It's always some people in slavery needing help from some white man or something. I know Ejiofor was attached to play Toussaint in that one movie Danny Glover was trying to get financed, yet that's hard as hell for them to do. But a man who gets tricked into slavery and needs a white man to help him out? Oh hell yeah. Let's go ahead and do that over the movie about the slaves who kicked the French out of Haiti.

White people want to feel neither useless nor villainous in race issue movies. They certainly aren't going to bankroll that feeling. There's cleverer ways to give them the good guy feeling that are less demeaning to blacks, but helping oppressed people is certainly the most direct.

I think there should be a mix of the old and new. Villages and buildings. the Coruscant-like look could work well. In the first film just kind of show that there is a mixture. That way if we get a Panther 2, the framework is quietly laid for a Killmonger or an M'Baku to make a run at Panther for betraying "the old ways".

Two of the visual spectacles we should see when we pull back should be the Panther god totem and vibranium mound.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Yes, those definitely should be visual spectacles, the Panther God over the Arena, and the Vibranium Mound beneath the palace. Very awesome.

I think something cool might be to sort of 'update' African architecture, with some hearkening back to Timbuktu and Kush. I personally don't like the Coruscant look, I think it sort of cartoonifies Wakanda.

 

[DarKush]

If they did a BP w/ Cap in WWII angle, I'd prefer it be in a Captain America movie. Putting them in a Black Panther movie would basically make BP a supporting character in his own film, because the other characters have greater recognizance to the general public. Their appearance would then be marketed to capitalize on that, thereby diminishing BP.

Also, Evans has a 6 picture deal and has said cameos would count towards that number, so he's basically gonna do 3 Avengers and 3 Caps. Might as well capitalize on that if you're gonna go that route and just make it Cap's film.

I see what you are saying, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. In a cynical move, you could use Captain America and Red Skull to sell the BP/WW 2 movie, but the movie itself (like the comic) could do justice to BP. I think Cap had a significant role in the comic, but he didn't dominate it. That era BP got some shine and a movie could be written to have Cap as the supporting character, the gateway character. And if not Cap, you could have the Howling Commandos, which would make it even easier for BP not to be eclipsed. And it would keep the Gabe Jones sideplot which was a nice part of the comics.

Though I don't have a problem introducing BP in a Cap or Avengers film, especially if it will lead to him getting his own film.

 

[DarKush]

This is all very true. I guess I was thinking of someone like Rashida Jones or a younger Maya Rudolph, someone who wasn't always (ever?) viewed as black. I think Kerry Washington would be a great choice, from the acting side, but I also feel like it would be a waste of that African accent she's been nursing. I'd rather see her as Nakia or Shuri for that reason. I feel like casting a singer (man I miss Alicia Keys) would be a good idea if Monica isn't quite the female lead, that Shuri plays as big or a bigger role.

I see a gateway Everett on Wakandan turf kind of like a terrified, socially inept type that T'Challa helps bring up to speed, even makes a bit of a hero out of him, and that burgeoning part is what turns Shuri's dismissive jesting of him into romantic tinglies and such. It's hard to not have a gateway take over the film if the title character doesn't have a significant arc, or their arc is dependent on the gateway, like in Hancock. But it can be done, especially if the main character is a gateway in and of himself, assuming what we're seeing through that smaller gateway is cool, like the X-Mansion, and not a weird symbiotic angel/gods thing like what Hancock learned.

The reason I don't think T'Challa can be a complete gateway, per se, is that he is already initiated into the world. When M'Baka steps out with his man-ape getup, there's no question in T'Challa's mind about what's going on. No chance for exposition. There has to be someone there to explain what the heck is going to, and to react to the new information, and that person is by definition the gateway for the audience narratively. The less T'Challa knows about the country of his birth, the more he works as a gateway, but I don't think he's the same character if he's too aloof from his own people.

Hmmm... unless the movie is constantly narrated by T'Challa, so we can get those thought boxes. That'd be interesting.

By the by, did anyone chime in on Wakanda's Technology level? What should it be?

I hadn't thought about Rashida Jones. Not a bad choice. And she is generally cast in 'race-neutral' roles, of course as the love interest of a white guy. She can pass for white, though that first name trips her up. Paula Patton is another possibility for a light skinned actress, though I think she might be considered more identifiably black when you look at some of her roles, like Idlewild and Jumping the Broom. Rosario Dawson's another. And if you wanted to cast a singer-actress, another one to throw in the mix is Jennifer Hudson.

As for T'Challa being a gateway, it is all in the writing. If they go with an origin story, we can watch him assume the throne, become Black Panther in the first movie (rather than starting out as BP) so he could then be our guide into his world. Or one of the royal advisors could.

An example of a black gateway character was Karen Jenson in Blade. I think they made it work pretty well and she served to some extent as a love interest/damsel-in-distress also, that provided a little sexual tension. Perhaps Monica Lynne could be the gateway in a similar fashion. Though it would require a bigger role for her.

 

[E-Man]

Monica Lynne should be played by Anika Noni Rose. Hell she could play anything in that movie because she is just superb. Maybe the females in the Panther movie could go like this:

Ramonda(T'Challa's stepmother)-Viola Davis
Monica Lynne- Anika Noni Rose
Okoye- Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Nakia- Camille Winbush
Queen Divine Justice- Keke Palmer

This movie could be a nice gold mine for young and up and coming actresses. There are a lot of names that would work in these roles that I didn't name like Annie Ilonzeh and Nauturi Naughton. I figure you could age the Dora Milaje a bit so that T'Challa doesn't look like a huge pedophile. Sure he would never touch them, but he did kiss(thanks to Mephisto) Nakia in the comics. Queen could still be a teen since she's learning, and since Keke Palmer is 18 now that's the perfect age.

 

[DarKush]

^
Good suggestions. Forgot about Naturi Naughton too. And I thought Ilonzeh was alright on Charlie's Angels.

I had Iman in my mind for Ramonda, though of course Viola Davis would be awesome too.