Black Panther: Release Date, Cast, Trailers, and News

We've got everything you need to know about Marvel's Black Panther movie.

The 2018 release for Black Panther is now getting excitingly close, and they’re not wasting any time getting the promotional machine rolling. The Black Panther movie will be the third Marvel movie in the next two years specifically intended to launch new franchises, so it’s crucial that they get everything just right.

They’ve assembled the right group of people to do it. Aside from the incredible cast (more on them down below), Black Panther is directed by Ryan Coogler, who helmed the superb Creed and Fruitvale Station.

Black Panther Release Date

Black Panther will be released on Feb. 16, 2018.

Black Panther Story

Here’s the official synopsis from Marvel:

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Marvel Studios’ Black Panther follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king—and Black Panther—is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.

Black Panther Trailer

Check out all the footage released from Black Panther so far!

We did a detailed analysis of this footage right here if you’re interested.

Black Panther Review

Black Panther is unlike almost all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies that have come before it. Director/writer Ryan Coogler (Creed) and co-writer Joe Robert Cole (American Crime Story) have found just the right sweet spot to tell a story that is deeply Afro-centric and affirmatively political in its themes and concerns, while dressing it in some of the familiar Marvel superhero pyrotechnics and adding a dash of James Bond espionage thriller. In other words, they’ve made a movie that speaks to a segment of the populace who have long awaited a mainstream film that addresses them directly, yet in no way does Black Panther alienate anyone else–this is still a comic book adventure for everyone.

Read our full review here.

Black Panther Cast

Here’s the full cast list from Marvel:

Black Panther, starring Chadwick Boseman (Captain America: Civil WarGet on Up), Michael B. Jordan (CreedFruitvale Station), Academy Award® winner Lupita Nyong’o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens12 Years a Slave), Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead, upcoming All Eyez on Me), Martin Freeman (Hobbit trilogy, Sherlock), Daniel Kaluuya (upcoming Get OutSicario), with Academy Award® nominee Angela Bassett (American Horror StoryLondon Has Fallen), with Academy Award® winner Forest Whitaker (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Lee Daniels’ The Butler), and Andy Serkis (Avengers: Age of UltronStar Wars: The Force Awakens).

Additional cast members include Letitia Wright (Urban HymnGlasgow Girls), Winston Duke (Person of InterestModern Family), Florence Kasumba (Captain America: Civil WarEmerald City), Sterling K. Brown (Whiskey Tango FoxtrotThe People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) and John Kani (Captain America: Civil WarCoriolanus).

Black Panther Characters

Chadwick Boseman is T’Challa, the Black Panther and Michael B. Jordan is the film’s villain, Erik Killmonger. This will be the third consecutive Coogler film to star Jordan, following Fruitvale Station and Creed. Killmonger was created Don McGregor and Rich Buckler in the pages of Jungle Action.

further reading: The Must See Movies of 2018

Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave, The Jungle Book) is Nakia, a member of the Dora Milaje, the royal bodyguards of T’Challa (we glimpsed them in Captain America: Civil War). That’s cool enough on its own, but The Walking Dead‘s Danai Gurira is Okoye, the head of the Dora Milaje!

Angela Bassett will play Ramonda, T’Challa’s mother, and the widow of King T’Chaka. Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker is also on board.

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Winston Duke (Person of Interest) is M’Baku, a character known by the rather ridiculous nom-du-supervillain of Man-Ape in the comics (but not in the movie, thankfully). M’Baku has been around almost as long as T’Challa, first appearing in Avengers #62 in 1969, where he was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.

Sterling K. Brown, who won an Emmy for his portrayal of Christopher Darden in The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story will play N’Jobu “a figure from T’Challa aka Black Panther’s past.”  No other details are currently available about the character, and N’Jobu isn’t ringing any Marvel Comics lore bells for us right now. 

Check out the posters…

Black Panther Soundtrack

Kendrick Lamar and Anthony “Top Dawg” Griffith will produce the Black Panther soundtrack, appropriately known as Black Panther: The Album. Listen to it here…