Wakanda Forever!
Chris here. Everything for Ryan Coogler's Black Panther just continues to look better and better. We got a pretty rousing trailer a while back, and now EW has a whole slew of photos to tease next year's first Marvel extravaganza.
The photo set gives us a closer look at this star-packed ensemble and promises unique character design. Coogler is apparently drawing on both The Godfather and the James Bond series for his narrative inspiration, but these aesthetics take my mind closer to 80s and early 90s fantasy epics for their gorgeous genre craftsmanship. The go-for-broke oppulence of Ruth E. Carter's costume design looks to be a hybrid of sci-fi tropes and African influences, certainly the most eye-popping Marvel has delivered. If you've been begging Marvel to break its mold, it looks like Black Panther could be a superhero oasis of originality.
Some favorites after the jump...
Medallioned gym shorts! Leather swim pants! Try harder, real world bros - Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan are proving you are mere mortals.
As if it wasn't already hard enough to not just shout "LUPITA!" at the screen, she's dressed in this.
Now the Bond influence is coming through. Honestly, the ensemble member I'm most excited for is The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira (pictured right) - she was quite outstanding in this summer's underwhelming All Eyez On Me.
A Makeup And Hairstyling Oscar just for putting Angela Bassett in this hair, please. Anyone else think the red seam in Martin Freeman's robe here was a handbag strap?
What is your favorite costume in EW's Black Panther photo set?
Reader Comments (13)
If this film could somehow score a Costume Design nod that would be amazing!
Looks divine. Love the costume design and this cast. Justice for Lupita.
Suggested caption for that second photo:
The prospect of fighting Chadwick Boseman in the water is giving Michael B. Jordan goosebumps.
Brian: The superhero genre has NEVER produced a Costume Design nomination, as crazy as that sounds. I'd even say that's a crazier track record than the lack of BP nominations. Hasn't even happened for full-blown STUNNERS in that respect like Batman Returns or Zack Snyder's Watchmen, so I wouldn't hold your breath that this breaks that habit from the costume branch, even though the Costume Design here DOES look great.
I'm going to call it. It's going to win the Oscar for Best Costume Design.
That last pic throws me back to the 90s when I was a fan the X-Men abimated series and imagined Angela Bassett playing Storm.
Second pic looks amazing and is the one that gets me most excited about what the movie can deliver.
The first pic looks a bit cheap, tho.
The first pic is not a still from the movie. @Carmen
@CarmenSandiego I agree. It looks like they are in the basement at Animal Kingdom,
Nothing about these pictures are tempering my expectations. I love everyone in this and the only two white people are a bureaucrat and a secondary villain. On top of that, if the only white people in your movie are Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis, you are probably doing something right.
I hate Michael b jordans hair and I don't think I'll be alone
Other than that, I agree, make-up and costuming look drool-worthy
@Carmen - yep, thought the same thing about Bassett in that pic. Maybe they can still do a Storm movie with Lupita and somehow get Bassett involved?
@Huh - I agree about his hair but everything else about him is working just fiiiiiiine.
Jordan's hair styling for this movie makes him more attractive. He's a teen heartthrob / guitar wielding musician with it.
Huh and DJDeeJay: Well, if you do hate Michael B. Jordan's hair? VILLAIN.
@Volvagia - ha! I mean, "hate" is a bit strong, but in some of the pics released so far it's not always...flattering.