|
 Writers, academics and
activists - speaking to Reuters about the film’s
cultural impact and Boseman’s performance -
believe Marvel and its parent company, Walt
Disney Co, should honor Boseman’s legacy with a
storyline that anoints a new Black Panther from
the film’s existing cast or elsewhere in the
Marvel Universe.
“They should really consider following the
storyline of the comic book and advancing
Letitia Wright (who plays Shuri, the tech genius
sister of Boseman's character) into that central
role,” said Jamil Smith, a senior writer at
Rolling Stone.
“We’ve seen her in action. We’ve seen her in the
middle of these fights. Why would we not think
she’d have the courage and strength to become
the next Black Panther?”
That strategy could help ease in fans who would
have a hard time seeing a different male actor
continue the role.
“Maybe the answer, for those of us who aren’t
yet ready to see someone else in that suit, is
to pass the reins a little earlier than they had
expected and allow Shuri to take on the mantle
maybe for a 'Black Panther 2,'" said April
Reign, #OscarsSoWhite creator and vice president
of content strategy for Ensemble, a content
studio.
Other approaches could celebrate Boseman’s
legacy. “Does (his character) come back as
little Black Panther?” said Nicol Turner Lee, a
senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
“Does Disney honor the imagination of the young
boys and girls who looked up to him?”
Disney and Marvel declined to comment. The
studio has focused on paying tribute to Boseman,
broadcasting the film commercial-free last
Sunday on Disney-owned ABC, followed by an ABC
News special about the actor. According to a
report in the Hollywood Reporter, executives
were caught by surprise and few people were
aware of Boseman's battle with cancer.
WAKANDA FOREVER
“Black Panther,” based on the pioneering Marvel
Comics character that first appeared in 1966,
generated $1.35 billion in box-office sales,
three Academy Awards and a best picture Oscar
nomination, and acclaim for its titular star,
who died on Aug. 28. Marvel was planning to
begin production of “Black Panther 2” in March,
according to the Hollywood Reporter, for a
scheduled May 6, 2022, release.
Although other studios have experienced the
sudden deaths of franchise stars - and have
recast, for other reasons, titular roles like
Batman and Spider-Man - Marvel’s decision holds
more weight because "Black Panther" was a
much-celebrated Black superhero movie, starring
an actor beloved by fans for the dignity he
brought to the role.
[to top of second column]
|
 The 2018 film broke new ground
with its predominantly Black cast, helmed by a
Black director. Boseman played the character of
King T’Challa, who presides over the futuristic
African nation of Wakanda. Produced with a $200
million budget, it was praised for its
diversity, after years of criticism about the
lack of actors and filmmakers of color in
Hollywood.
“It shattered at that time for Disney just the
myth that you cannot package and distribute
feature films with Black people as the starring
roles,” said Lee. “For me, ‘Black Panther’
represents the fact that inclusivity sells.”
“Black Panther” also hit theaters at a time of
rising U.S. racial tension. President Donald
Trump had recently questioned why the United
States would want to have immigrants from Haiti
and African nations, referring to some as
“shithole countries.” The previous August, he
had said "both sides" were to blame for violence
between white nationalists and counterprotesters
at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Then came Wakanda.
“'Black Panther' the film was a huge cultural
landmark,” said Alan Jenkins, a professor of
practice at Harvard Law School. “One part of
what made the film so important was the world of
Wakanda and the idea of an African nation
unchained by colonialism, slave trade,
exploitation. It had dignity, brilliance and
technology.”
Today “Black Panther” is even more relevant, as
Black Americans disproportionately suffer from
COVID-19 and die at the hands of police,
cultural experts say. The aspirational Wakanda
provides an antidote to that suffering.
“The film certainly didn’t cause the activism of
today - that was from the tragic killing of
George Floyd and others,” said Jenkins. “But it
contributed to an environment where we can see
new realities and imagine a world that is more
just and equitable than the one in which we
live.”
(Reporting by Helen Coster; Editing by Kenneth
Li and Peter Cooney)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
