Since its inception in 2008, part and parcel of the unwavering success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is its innate ability to mix up the tone to suit the superhero (or superheroes) at hand. Ant-Man, for instance, was very much stylized as a heist film, whereas James Gunn’s swashbuckling Guardians of the Galaxy won over the moviegoing masses with a light-hearted sense of adventure – the fist-pumping power ballads helped, of course.
That rich diversity can be traced all throughout the MCU, though it seems Ryan Coogler’s standalone Black Panther movie will hail from darker territory, after lead star Chadwick Boseman recently teased the ways in which the movie is shaping up to be “a little grittier” than its MCU brethren.
[zerg]Indeed, it’s these darker tenets that attracted Boseman to the role in the first place. Here’s what the actor had to share during a recent chat with Comic
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.
Set to have a marked effect on the fictional nation of Wakanda, which will only enjoy a more prominent role in Marvel’s universe going forward, Boseman then went on to discuss how Black Panther spotlights the rise of T’challa.
I feel like you get a chance to see that [Black Panther]’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.
Black Panther, also starring Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Michael B. Jordan as the evil Erik Killmonger, is due to land on July 6, 2018.