The very first teaser trailer for Marvel’s Black Panther has arrived, featuring our newest look at Chadwick Boseman as the titular character, who first appeared in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
The trailer begins with an interrogation scene of Ulysses Klaue/Klaw (Andy Serkis) being asked about Wakanda, as we see Boseman and one of his bodyguards watching through a two-way mirror. Then the trailer unfurls, as we get a look at the country of Wakanda, a voiceover about how hard it is to be king, and actions sequences like T’Challa in his suit taking on a full storm of bullets and his female bodyguards, the Dora Milaje, lowering the boom on some bad guys.
Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther is the first solo black superhero movie in Marvel’s current cinematic universe. Boseman is T’Challa, a.k.a. Black Panther, the king of Wakanda, a fictional African country that is a major technological leader in the Marvel universe. In the comic books, the precious metal called vibranium is found in Wakanda, making it a place of interest to forces of good, evil, and everyone in between.
With Black Panther, Marvel has the chance to tell a different story from the sorts of stories it usually tells. T’Challa has a duty, first and foremost, to his people and is tasked with protecting their interests — interests that might not always coincide with what the Avengers want.
Black Panther is also the first movie since Blade to tell a superhero story that isn’t from a white point of view. The majority of characters in Marvel’s superhero stories — not just heroes but villains, allies, and supporting characters too — up until this point have been white or European. But Black Panther’s terrific, diverse cast extends beyond Boseman. Michael B. Jordan plays Erik Killmonger, one of Black Panther’s comic book nemeses. And Lupita Nyong'o, Angela Bassett, and The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira also have starring roles in the film.
Black Panther hits theaters on February 16, 2018.
