The idea of making a movie based on Marvel’s Black Panther has been around for a long time, but for one reason and another, it’s never even vaguely got off the starting blocks. Some have even attributed a hint of racism to the lack of impetus behind a Black Panther film, seeing it as because studios are worried about whether audiences will take to an African American masked vigiliante.
However Marvel now seems to be pushing forward, with THR reporting that they’ve hired Marc Bailey to come up with a script for the film. He’s a somewhat odd choice, as his credits have main been in documentaries, writing for the HBO documentary Pandemic: Facing AIDS and serving as a story editor on Ghosts of Abu Ghraib. It may suggest Marvel wants something a biit more thought-provoking and ‘real’ from this superhero flick.
Black Panther first appeared in the pages of Fantastic Four in 1966, and is generally agreed to be the first black hero in mainstream comics. In the comics Black Panther is the name given to the chief of Wakandan Panther Clan (Wakanda is an African country concealed from the outside world), and which entitles him to eat a special heart shaped herb that gives him enhanced strength, agility, and perception.
In the 90s, Wesley Snipes was long attached to a Black Panther flick while it moved form studio to studio. He’s long gone from being attached through, and while there have been numerous other attempts to get a movie based on the character make over the years none has got very far. Let’s hope Marvel is serious about it this time.