Finally, a hero of color will headline a feature film. We have not seen that since Blade. Before making Blade, Wesley Snipes tried to make a Black Panther film. It would be great id Wesley can be featured in a cameo.
Meet Marvel’s Black Panther: Chadwick Boseman Variety By Marc Graser 11 hours ago
After breaking out as Jackie Robinson and James Brown in “42” and “Get On Up,” Chadwick Boseman has a new high-profile role to play: T’Challa, otherwise known as the superhero Black Panther.
Created by Stan Lee with Jack Kirby, the character is notable for being the first black superhero in mainstream American comicbooks.
The king of the fictional nation of Wakanda, T’Challa joined the Avengers in 1968. He will be prominently featured in costume for the first time in “Captain America: Civil War,” May 6, 2016, before being spun off into his own film on Nov. 3, 2017.
“He will have a big role,” said Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige on Tuesday at a Marvel fan event at Disney’s El Capitan Theater.
Feige said he was happy Boseman’s casting didn’t leak the way the trailer for “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” wound up online, a week before its planned debut after ABC’s “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.”
The Civil War plot is a key one for Marvel’s cinematic universe, considering the bigscreen moral and physical battle will play out in multiple movies. In the comicbooks, Spider-Man is at the center of the storyline, which involves the world’s superheroes having to register with a government organization backed by billionaire Tony Stark.
But since its currently unable to integrate Spider-Man in its films — Sony has the sole rights — Black Panther appears to be taking the web slinger’s role.
“It’s a big storyline,” Feige said, adding that “this is the Civil War of the cinematic universe, inspired by comicbook universe, but the Civil War that’s based on all of the other films, particularly (‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’) and (‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’).”
Wakanda has the world’s largest deposits of vibranium, a highly durable meteoric ore that is used to create the mesh in Black Panther’s costume and Captain America’s shield. The material will play a larger role in future Marvel movies.
But so will Black Panther, a character that has long been in Marvel’s plans as a potential franchise.
While “42” and “Get On Up” generated praise from critics, especially for Boseman’s portrayal of the icons in the films, it will be his role as Black Panther that could give him the star making turn that will make him recognizable to audiences worldwide.
Marvel movies, afterall, rejuvinated Robert Downey Jr.’s career, turned Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt and Tom Hiddleston into major stars, while also boosting the profiles of Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffallo and Dave Bautista.
After “Black Panther,” the character is also expected to join the rest of the Avengers in sequels to that franchise, which is being broken up into two films in 2018 and 2019. Boseman has inked a five-picture deal with Marvel, according to sources.
Boseman, 37, hails from Anderson, South Carolina. He had roles in the TV series “Lincoln Heights” and “Persons Unknown” before making the switch to films. His credits include the thriller “The Kill Hole” and Kevin Costner sports drama “Draft Day.”
Here is a fun clip of Age of Ultron before the trailer starts.
The scene where Tony Stark & James Rhodes wearing their gauntlets in an attempt to life Mjölnir (Thor's hammer) is pretty funny.
Also funny was Thor's face when Captain America actually slightly moved the hammer. In the comics, Cap has wielded the hammer on at least two occasions.
Finally, a hero of color will headline a feature film. We have not seen that since Blade. Before making Blade, Wesley Snipes tried to make a Black Panther film. It would be great id Wesley can be featured in a cameo.
Black Panther is not the only black hero getting a solo film, or appearing in multiple superhero films.
Cyborg, from DC Comics, will be appearing on screen, as well.
Quote:
DC's 'Cyborg,' Ray Fisher, didn't know he was getting his own movie
Nobody told Ray Fisher the plan. The 27-year-old had no idea he was set to explode into Hollywood movie stardom, top-lining as the title character in a Cyborg movie set for release in 2020. In fact, producers called the New Jersey-born theater actor on Oct. 15 with the heads-up only hours before Warner Bros. publicly revealed its slate of mega-budget superhero movies tied to the DC Cinematic Universe—Wonder Woman, The Justice League, Suicide Squad, and Shazam among them.
“I didn’t know the extent to which DC and WB had planned on taking my character,” says Fisher, who was hired in March to cameo as Cyborg in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. “When I signed on, I just wanted to be part of this world. But that specific information, I found out then and there. I didn’t think I’d be getting my own stand-alone film.”
Now, Fisher ranks as the first African-American to score a non-ensemble superhero flick since Will Smith’s booze-swilling screw-up vigilante Hancock in 2008. Not bad for a classically trained actor and veteran of the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey with precisely zero feature film roles to his credit.
After packing on nearly 20 pounds of muscle—swelling from a relatively svelte 193 pounds to a ripped 212—to portray Muhammad Ali in the off-Broadway play Fetch Clay, Make Man last year, the 6-foot-4 Fisher began generating industry interest.
“Once we were in previews, Ang Lee came to see the show,” he says. “One of his next projects is a 3-D boxing movie about Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. So he’s scouting for people to play Ali in this film. Ang and I meet to talk about his ideas for the project and it’s all very interesting. Waiting to see where everything goes with that.”
Soon, a fleet of managers, agents and Hollywood casting executives were making the trip to downtown Manhattan’s New York Theatre Workshop to catch Fisher’s performances. And prior to landing the part of an existentially conflicted half-man/half-machine bristling with high-tech weaponry (Cyborg will also turn up in two Justice League movies), Fisher gained traction as a serious contender to star in Star Wars Episode VII.
“I’m a long-game player and didn’t see any of this happening until at least my 40s,” Fisher says. “It’s a huge honor, but a bit of pressure comes along with it. My mind is just boggled right now.”
In July, the actor wrapped shooting his part for Batman v Superman, scheduled for release in March 25, 2016. He remains tight-lipped about plot-points and potential spoilers but confirmed meeting certain super-friends on set: Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and Ben Affleck (Batman). Fisher also bonded with fellow New Jersey-ite Jesse Eisenberg, who portrays super villain Lex Luthor in the movie.
“I met everyone in the Justice League except Henry Cavill and Ezra Miller,” Fisher says of the actors who respectively portray Superman and the Flash within the DC Cinematic Universe. “It was surreal. You get this idea of going to work on a Hollywood set as being really stressful and nerve-wracking. But it blew that stereotype away. If they did have stressful times, it wasn’t while I was there.”
So what can fans expect from Zack Snyder? He’s the director, after all, who famously proclaimed in 2009: “We’re killing the comic-book movie, we’re ending it.”
“Let me tell you, man,” Fisher says with a laugh, “people are in for a hell of a treat.”
WB's Cyborg, Ray Fisher, Promises 'A Hell of a Treat' in Store for DC Comics Fans
Source: EW October 21, 2014
Primarily known for his stage work, Ray Fisher was cast earlier this year as Victor Stone, the character who becomes the DC Comics superhero Cyborg. Now, in an interview with EW, Fisher confirms that he'll be appearing not only in the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice but, as has been long suspected, in both halves of Zack Snyder's Justice League before getting his own solo film in 2020.
"I didn't know the extent to which DC and WB had planned on taking my character," Fisher tells the outlet. "When I signed on, I just wanted to be part of this world. But that specific information, I found out then and there. I didn't think I'd be getting my own stand-alone film... Let me tell you, man, people are in for a hell of a treat."
Cyborg made his first appearance in 1980's "DC Comics Presents" #26. In the "New 52" continuity, he's a high school athlete who, after getting caught in a S.T.A.R. Labs explosion, is given powerful bionic abilities that lead to him becoming a founding member of the Justice League.
Fisher also adds that he's already met (although has not necessarily filmed alongside) fellow JLA members Ben Affleck (Batman), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) along with Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's resident supervillain, Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor).
Also set to star Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Callan Mulvey, Scoot McNairy, Jena Malone and Tao Okamoto, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters on March 25, 2016.
Ray Fisher's Mind "Boggled" At Announcement of "Cyborg" Solo Film
Wed, October 22nd, 2014 at 8:07am PDT
Entertainment Weekly caught up with up-and-coming actor Ray Fisher, the star of DC's just announced "Cyborg" feature film scheduled for 2020. The reveal of a standalone film starring the Justice Leaguer didn't just surprise fans -- it also surprised Cyborg, who received word of his solo film just hours before the big reveal.
"I didn’t know the extent to which DC and WB had planned on taking my character," Fisher told EW. "When I signed on, I just wanted to be part of this world. But that specific information, I found out then and there. I didn't think I'd be getting my own stand-alone film." The theater actor first signed on to play the superhero in a cameo role in 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" back in April.
The article notes that Fisher will be the first African-American to headline a superhero film since Will Smith did so in 2008's "Hancock." For a superhero film with an African-American lead based on a Marvel or DC property, though, you have to go back to 2004's "Blade: Trinity" when Wesley Snipes last appeared as the titular vampire hunter.
With no feature film roles on his resume, the actor, who portrayed Muhammad Ali in the off-Broadway play "Fetch Clay, Make Man," notes that he did not expect to see his career go in this direction this quickly. "I’m a long-game player and didn't see any of this happening until at least my 40s," said Fisher. "It's a huge honor, but a bit of pressure comes along with it. My mind is just boggled right now."
Fisher revealed to EW that he has finished filming his role in "Batman v Superman," and that he met Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa and Ben Affleck -- Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Batman, respectively -- while on set. "I met everyone in the Justice League except Henry Cavill and Ezra Miller," said Fisher. "It was surreal. You get this idea of going to work on a Hollywood set as being really stressful and nerve-wracking. But it blew that stereotype away. If they did have stressful times, it wasn't while I was there."
Hudlin already knew what was going down with Black Panther.
Halle plays Storm in the X-Men films while Djimon Honsou was the voice actor of Black Panther in the animated version of Hudlin's "Who is the Black Panther" story.
Quote:
I Love Your Smile!
I love your smile but hate this picture. Don’t know why this gauzy filter kicked in, but these are the only pictures of a historic meeting. That’s Halle Berry (Storm) and Djimon Honsou (The Black Panther), together at last!
You might be wondering why I was with Halle, Djimon and the Russo Brothers (makers of the amazing Captain America: The Winter Soldier) but I’m not talking.