Chadwick Boseman Talks T’Challa’s Love Life, Villains and Politics in ‘Black Panther’
Black Panther is less than a year away and although it still seems fairly far, all the news, imagery and promo we’ve been getting this week allows me to cope with the fact that February is not here yet.
That being said, as SDCC is fast approaching, there will certainly be more Black Panther news to look forward, but in the meantime, Entertainment Weekly caught up with the film’s star, Chadwick Boseman, to talk about what’s next for T’Challa in this film and how it relates to the world’s current political climate.
The movie takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War which left T’Challa taking up the mantle of King after his father T’Chaka’s untimely death. Boseman describes T’Challa’s current mindset as being in mourning that that he feels “guilt and unsureness because he doesn’t have his father there.”
When asked what the biggest challenge T’Challa has weighing on him and Boseman related it to the current political climate. He said:
“Generally, there is unrest because there’s no leader on the throne. We’re dealing with a similar thing right now in this country. Just because a person was elected doesn’t mean everybody agrees with the things he’s going to do. Having to make the first decisions … what do you do first? What do you choose to do that’s going to get everybody on your side? It’s a political drama essentially.”
Marvel Studios BLACK PANTHER T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) Credit: Kwaku Alston/©Marvel Studios 2018
From there, Boseman revealed a little bit about the film’s villains, namely Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and Klaue (Andy Serkis). When asked about Killmonger trying to snatch the Wakandan throne out from under T’Challa, Boseman said, “I can’t really say. I can say that I identify with Killmonger’s character. It’s going to be a fun character. He definitely has a different point of view. They are polar opposites. A superhero movie is only as great as its villains. I think they both provide a piece of that.”
When asked what exactly about Klaue posed the biggest threat Boseman revealed:
“You have Wakanda, which is an isolationist society, Klaue has entered that space and knows more about it than anybody else. Because of that, he is a threat. Not to mention that he’s accessed this gift that could also be a curse to the rest of the world.”
However it seems that T’Challa’s threats don’t only come in the form of an enemy like Klaue, but also in the form of his mother, Ramona (Angela Bassett) who is described as having her “hands in everything – even his [T’Challa’s] love life.”
When asked about the ruler’s love life, Boseman played it cool and told EW:
“[Laughs] There’s no engagement that’s happening! He’s very James Bond-like. There’s always a possibility that there could be some other woman. I’m not going to tell you that there’s a triangle. You want me to say something about Monica Lynne.”
Well, Mr. Boseman can play coy all he wants, but with an amazing director like Ryan Coogler at the helm and a star-studded cast unlike any we’ve seen in previous MCU films, it’s safe to say that Black Panther is certainly going to be epic!
Let us know what you’re hoping to see in the upcoming film in the comment section below.
Black Panther leaps into theaters on February 16, 2018.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
