Posted in: Marvel Studios, Movies | Tagged: black panther, film, HRL, marvel

Black Panther: Chadwick Boseman Talks Being A Leader In A Complex World

Published Sat, 11 Nov 2017 16:30:18 -0600

Black Panther is going to be a revolutionary movie regardless of quality — simply because of what it is. There are people who have been waiting their entire lives to see a hero like this on screen, and star Chadwick Boseman is ready to bring the complex character of T'Challa to the big screen in his first solo outing. In an interview with CNet, Boseman talks about the difficulties that come with being a hero, being a good person, and being a king.

He has the attributes of a hero, but has difficult decisions, difficult choices. Sometimes there's no right answer. Everybody has heard the line, "It's hard for a good man to be king." I think there's a sense of all the complications of being a good leader. At times it feels like "The Godfather." It's complicated to do what's right. It's complicated to follow the traditions. It's complicated to do something new. It's complicated when you have to deal with who should live and who should die. Sometimes you have to do bad things or you maybe need to do bad things so there's justice, so there's peace.

T'Challa is recently coming into his own as a King, which means he's going to have a lot of power rather suddenly. Boseman explains how T'Challa chooses to deal with it.

This movie is about how you use power. What do you do when you get power? In this case, you're talking about someone taking the throne. But all superhero movies are about a person who has extreme power. They can disappear. They do tricks or they can jump really high. Whatever it is, that ability gives them an advantage. The only difference between a hero and the villain is that the villain chooses to use that power in a way that is selfish and hurts other people.

What Boseman likes about T'Challa is that he isn't afraid to ask for help. He also expresses the joy of being able to play a leader — a role not often given to black actors in major blockbusters.

I love that he thinks about other people. He's not afraid to hear wise counsel. I think there is some fear of being wrong. I identify with that, with his plight, his personality. And I love him because the fantasy of playing a ruler — you never get to do that. You never get to explore what that is. It's fun having power and having a say in what happens to the people around you.

Boseman is no stranger to playing characters that are larger than life. He seems more than ready to bring this character to life, too.

Summary: T'Challa, 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.

Black Panther, directed Ryan Coogler, stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, and Martin Freeman. It will be released on February 16th, 2018.

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