Chadwick Boseman Says Black Panther Will Be Darker And Grittier

Is the MCU taking a leaf out of DC's book?

By Simon Gallagher /

Marvel

There's goood news for DC movie fans who hate the MCU for its levity and silliness: according to Chadwick Boseman Black Panther is going to swerve that usual tone and set something darker and grittier. And he couldn't be more delighted, as he confirmed in a newly published interview from Comic Con that you can read in full here.

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“It’s funny, because on one hand, the Marvel movies that I’ve liked the most are the ones that are funny. I love Ant-Man. But for me, most of the time the darker superhero movies are the ones that I gravitate towards, that I love the most”.“So I’m glad that I’m not in an Ant-Man. I’m glad that the tone of [Black Panther] may be a little grittier. I just wanted to establish that from the beginning, that that’s what we were doing. That that’s what I intend to do. I feel like we’ll end up in a place that I’ve always wanted to be when I look at superhero movies. Those are the ones I like the most. It’s exciting to do that”.

It might be grittier, but it's not going to be a wild departure, no matter what anyone says. The MCU is a brand that knows what it is and what it needs to be. Abandoning that - in defiance of what Kevin Feige has said himself about not doing that - is just not on the cards. Still, it's nice to hear it's going to be a grown-up movie.

So what else can we expect to see from the character?

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“I feel like you get a chance to see that he’s not going to be a selfish ruler. He’s not going to be a dictator. He’s not going to be a person that does things purely for his own gain. That he does have a heroic aspect at the heart of a hero; of a leader. You can pull for him, because he’s merciful. And it leaves room also for him to do things that are not necessarily perfect”.

Complexity, flaws, vulnerability... What's not to like?