Captain America: Civil War introduced Black Panther to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's T’Challa’s solo movie in 2018 that will fully establish his world. Although actors like Luptia Nyong’o and Michael B Jordan have either been cast or are in negotiations to join Black Panther, the movie has yet to announce any of its characters outside of (of course) Chadwick Boseman reprising T’Challa. Now a casting call list has made its way online, and among the folks mentioned are two familiar faces from the MCU: Ulysses Klaue and Everett Ross.
In the midst of allies like Monica Lynne and villains like Erik Killmonger, a listing from Movie Casting Call names Andy Serkis’ Klaue and Martin Freeman’s Ross among the characters who will appear in Black Panther. Because this cast list includes almost every major supporting character and villain from the Black Panther comics, it should be taken with a major grain of salt. Maybe all these characters will eventually be seen in the MCU, but it’s hard to believe they’re being crammed into one movie.
While the authenticity of this casting list is debatable, that doesn’t necessarily mean Klaue and Ross won’t show up in Black Panther. Both are important members in the Wakandan hero’s mythology, Klaue being one of his greatest adversaries and Ross being one of his allies in the U.S. government. Both have already been introduced in the MCU, so there’s no need to spend too much time establishing them. Still, it’d be best to wait for an official casting announcement or a report from a source with a good track record.
Ulysses Klaue was introduced last year as an arms dealer in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Just like his comic book counterpart, he’s obsessed with vibranium, and while he did manage to steal a large amount from Wakanda, he was caught and branded with the Wakandan word for "thief." The last time we saw him, he’d just had his arm ripped off by Ultron after he questioned if the robot was one of Tony Stark’s designs. Fortunately for Klaue, he had just been given billions of dollars by Ultron for his vibranium supply shortly before his injury, so he’ll have more than enough money to buy a high tech prosthetic arm that could be used as a weapon against Black Panther if necessary.
Martin Freeman debuted earlier this month in Captain America: Civil War as one of the lead agents in the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre. Ross didn’t get to do much in his first appearance, but if he appears in Black Panther, this will presumably be because Ross has been reassigned as a liaison to Wakanda. While getting the lay of the land, he’ll get to knw T’Challa better and assist the king in whatever way he can against the movie’s main threat, whether it’s Klaue or someone else.
Black Panther claws its way into theaters on February 16, 2018.
