Marvel’s Black Panther is playing in theaters everywhere and critics are raving about the film. According to Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of top critics approve of the film. The reviewer on RogerEbert.com calls it “[o]ne of the year’s best films, and one that transcends the superhero genre to emerge as an epic of operatic proportions.” The movie is even more fun to watch when you know some of these fun facts about the making of Black Panther.
– Black Panther follows T’Challa who returns to the advanced East African nation of Wakanda following the death of his father, King T’Chaka, to take his rightful place as King. Xhosa, one of the official languages of South Africa, is the language of Wakanda.
– That’s because South African actor John Kani portrayed King T’Chaka in “Captain America: Civil War” and used his native accent in that movie. Chadwick Boseman, who plays T’Challa/Black Panther, picked it up from him. In Black Panther, John Kani’s son, Atandwa Kani, plays the character of Young T’Chaka to his father.
– Denzel Whitaker plays Young Zuri, and although they have the same surname, he is not related to Forest Whitaker, who plays the older Zuri. This isn’t the first time that the two have played father and son. They did so in Denzel Washington’s “The Great Debaters.”
– The Dora Milaje is the cadre of warrior women who are the personal security force to the King and royal family. Filmmakers cast members of the Dora Milaje from actresses, stunt women and Broadway dancers. The goal was for each Dora to bring specialized skills to the group.
– It took four people and two and half hours in the makeup chair every day to transform actor Michael B. Jordan into Erik Killmonger. Each of Killmonger’s scars represents a “notch” of his kills over the years.
– Most of the fight work in the film was done by the cast and not by doubles. Boseman already had extensive experience in martial arts. He and all the other actors attended “boot camp” to prepare them for the physical aspects of their roles.
– Both the cast and the stunt team practiced with African drums played by musician Jabari Exum. The goal was for their movements to have a musical quality found in many African-based martial arts.
– Sound Stages at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta housed most of the Wakanda sets, including the Tribal Council, the Wakandan Design Group (Shuri’s hive of research and development of the vibranium rich country), the ancient subterranean Hall of Kings, and Warrior Falls.
– Construction on the Warrior Falls set took four months and used more than 25,000 cubic feet of foam. Designers sculpted it to match the rocks in Oribi Gorge in South Africa.
– Actor Daniel Kaluuya learned how to ride a horse as practice to simulate riding W’Kabi’s armored rhino in the film.
– The high-speed car action for the Casino sequence was filmed on location in the busy coastal city of Busan, South Korea, where the action unit was for approximately two weeks in the foothills of Geumjeong Mountain.
– Marvel’s Black Panther character made his debut in the comic book world in “Fantastic Four Vol. 1” Issue 52, published in 1966.
Common Sense Media recommends Black Panther for kids 12 and up. They also gave it their seal of approval as “great for families.”
Chances are you’ll have lots of topics to discuss with your kids after seeing Black Panther, but if you’re looking for conversation starters, you can find five suggestions from Common Sense here. And have your kids read some Black Panther books, which you can find here.
Source: Marvel Studios
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