Black Panther was introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe a couple weeks ago in Captain America: Civil War. Since then, the character has enjoyed heaps of praise for his role in the movie, making many fans even more excited for his 2018 solo movie. Over the last week, we've been hearing about how Black Panther will look, like Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan being added and how the entire cast will be 90% African or African-American. To go the extra mile, now we’re hearing the movie will also try to film in areas of Africa to feel more authentic.
In an interview with The Undefeated, Marvel Studios producer Nate Moore stated that he and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler are looking at places to shoot in Africa, although exact locations haven’t been chosen yet. He explained:
We’ll do our stage work in Atlanta. And we’re definitely investigating shooting in Africa … both Marvel and Ryan [Coogler] feel that would be really good for the movie. We just haven’t drilled down on it yet.
Considering that most, if not all, of Black Panther will take place in Wakanda, it makes sense that the production would try to shoot some scenes in Africa. After all, Wakanda is nestled right in the middle of the continent, so the production would want to get the proper outside environment established, while the "stage work" can be accomplished in Atlanta, Georgia. Avengers: Age of Ultron previously filmed action sequences in Johannesburg, South Africa for the big fight between Hulk and Tony Stark in the Hulkbuster armor, but that was done without the main cast. For Black Panther, get the main characters walking around these African locations, from Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa to rumored players like Andy Serkis’ Ulysses Klaue and Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross.
Warning: spoilers for Captain America: Civil War are ahead!
So far our only look at Wakanda in the MCU comes from the Captain America: Civil War mid-credits scene. After escaping from Siberia, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were granted asylum by T’Challa in his nation. Once there, Bucky decided to go back into deep freeze so he won’t hurt anyone else until Wakanda’s scientists can figure out how to undo HYDRA’s brainwashing. When Steve told T’Challa that the United Nations would invade Wakanda if they found how he was keeping Bucky safe, the king simply stated, "Let them come." The camera then drew back and gave moviegoers their first taste of the fictional African nation, including a giant panther statue. When Black Panther begins, moviegoers will finally get to see what Wakanda, the most technologically advanced nation on Earth, looks like in full scope, be it the capital city or one of outlying areas where a separate tribe resides.
Black Panther hits theaters on February 16, 2018.
