Chadwick Boseman Says Black Panther Will Be Darker And Grittier
Is the MCU taking a leaf out of DC's book?
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.
“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?
“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?