Chadwick Boseman says Marvel wasn’t a factor for Black Panther

Chadwick Boseman didn’t agree to star in ‘Black Panther’ because it’s a Marvel film.
The 41-year-old actor is reprising his role as T’Challa aka Black Panther in the upcoming, standalone movie based around the Marvel comic book character, and although he is now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the action film appealed to Boseman because it’s such a cool story.
Speaking to ScreenRant.com, Boseman said: "Well one, I mean they [Marvel] have a good batting average in terms of successful films and films that people love. And to be specific about this film and this character it’s just a good character. It’s an interesting character. Because if it was somehow not as good as it is I wouldn’t want to do it. Just because it’s Marvel it doesn’t mean you want to do it. They tend to be offering people stuff that’s interesting and good and wanting to push envelopes in certain places.
"So this one I think is obviously you’ve never seen a movie like this before so it’s just cool. For me every project it has to be something that’s challenging and cool and that’s a challenge for me.
"It keeps me interested. So that’s all that really matters. This is definitely one of them."
Black Panther was created by legendary Marvel Comics writer Stan Lee and the equally iconic artist-and-writer Jack Kirby and first appeared in ‘Fantastic Four #52’ back in 1966.
The motion picture is expected to expand on the storyline that was first introduced in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ of how T’Challa becomes the superhero.
T’Challa’s father T’Chaka is king of the African nation Wakanda and has the ceremonial title Black Panther as the chief of the Panther Tribe, but is killed when a bomb goes off at the UN making his son the Black Panther.
Other actors in the movie include Forest Whitaker, who will take on the role of Zuri, an elder statesman in Wakanda, and ‘The Walking Dead’ star Danai Gurira – who is to portray Okoye, the head of the Dora Milaje, the Black Panther’s personal bodyguards.
Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis are both set to reprise their roles as Everett K. Ross and Ulysses Klaue respectively in the new film.