Black Panther (film)

as T'Challa / Black Panther:
The king of the African nation of Wakanda^[6][7][8] who gains superhuman strength by ingesting the heart-shaped herb.^[9] He ascends to the throne following the death of his father T'Chaka in Captain America: Civil War (2016).^[6][10] Boseman called T'Challa an anti-hero who is "very much aware" of his responsibility as the leader of Wakanda.^[11][12] Black Panther's suit, which forms around his body, was inspired by a similar design by artist Brian Stelfreeze in Ta-Nehisi Coates's comic book series Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet.^[13] For his Wakandan accent, Boseman worked with the same dialect coach he had for Message from the King (2016),^[11] and worked with Marrese Crump to stay in shape between Civil War and Black Panther.^[10] To prepare for the role, Boseman visited South Africa twice; examined Shaka Zulu, Patrice Lumumba, speeches from Nelson Mandela, and Fela Kuti songs; talked to a Yoruba Babalawo; trained in Dambe, Capoeira Angola, and Zulu stick fighting; and took a DNA test to better understand his African ancestry.^[14] He signed a five-film contract with Marvel, beginning with Civil War.^[15] Ashton Tyler plays a young T'Challa.^[16]: i

Chadwick Boseman

as N'Jadaka / Erik "Killmonger" Stevens:
A black ops mercenary and former U.S. Navy SEAL who seeks to overthrow his cousin T'Challa^[17][18] and enforce his own opinion on how Wakanda should be ruled.^[19] Jordan had wanted to play a villain for "a while",^[20] and likened Killmonger and T'Challa's relationship to the X-Men characters Magneto and Professor X.^[21] He added that Killmonger is strategic, thoughtful, patient, and "trained to a T".^[22] Killmonger's bumpy, ritualistic tribal markings on his chest and torso resemble the scar tattoos of the Mursi and Surma tribes,^[23] and consisted of 90 individually sculpted silicone molds that took two-and-a-half hours to apply.^[16]: 21 Jordan would have to sit in a sauna for two hours at the end of the day to remove the prosthetics.^[24] Killmonger's dreadlocks hairstyle was a modern take on the character's long hair in the comics.^[21] To prepare for the role, Jordan studied Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Huey P. Newton, Fred Hampton, and Tupac Shakur.^[14] He also cited Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) as an influence.^[25] Corey Calliet, who had previously worked with Jordan on Creed (2015), served as his trainer.^[26] Seth Carr plays a young Stevens.^[16]: i

Michael B. Jordan

as Nakia:
T'Challa's former lover and a War Dog, an undercover spy for Wakanda, from the River Tribe.^[10][19][27] Nyong'o called Nakia a "departure" from her comic counterpart.^[19] She begins the film fighting for enslaved women in Nigeria. Nyong'o trained in judo, jujitsu, silat, and Filipino martial arts.^[10]

Lupita Nyong'o

as Okoye:
An "extremely proud" Wakandan traditionalist from the Border Tribe who is the head of the Dora Milaje, Wakanda's all-female special forces and T'Challa's bodyguards.^[28][29][30] Director Ryan Coogler cast Gurira based on her performance in Mother of George (2013), rather than her popular role of Michonne in the television series The Walking Dead, which Coogler had not seen. Gurira said that the fighting skills she learned playing Michonne complemented the skills of Okoye,^[31] but noted that the Dora Milaje are a secret service, which covers intel as well as fighting. She explained that though the character is stoic, "she also has an unexpected sense of humor. She has a heart, but for her country and for her people."^[30] Gurira's head was re-shaved every day to have her head tattoos applied, which took two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half hours.^[24]

Danai Gurira

as Everett K. Ross:
A member of the Central Intelligence Agency^[32][33] whom Freeman described as having an "uneasy peace" with T'Challa. He added that the character goes on an "enlightening journey to Wakanda" in the film.^[32] Freeman and the filmmakers sought to depict Ross as a capable agent rather than just comic relief as he is in the comics.^[10][34]

Martin Freeman

as W'Kabi: A confidant to T'Challa and his best friend who is the head of security for the Border Tribe, serving as the first line of defense for Wakanda.^[19][35]

Daniel Kaluuya

as Shuri:
T'Challa's 16-year-old sister who designs new technology for the country.^[10][36] Wright described Shuri as innovative of spirit and mind, wanting to take Wakanda to "a new place", and felt she was a good role model for young Black girls.^[36] Executive producer Nate Moore called Shuri the smartest person in the world, even more so than Tony Stark.^[10]

Letitia Wright

as M'Baku:
A powerful, ruthless warrior who is the leader of Wakanda's mountain tribe, the Jabari, who protest T'Challa being the new king.^[37] Duke described the Jabari as people who "strongly believe that to move forward, you have to have a strong adherence and respect for the past. So they have a deep moral conscience."^[38] Character elements from Christopher Priest's 1998–2003 Black Panther series were adapted for M'Baku's portrayal in the film.^[37] M'Baku is not referred to in the film by his comics alter ego "Man-Ape", since Marvel felt there were "a lot of racial implications that don't sit well" in having a Black character dress up as an ape. This aspect of the character was instead reworked to have the Jabari tribe worship the gorilla gods, with M'Baku still wearing elements of fur on his arms and legs and a chest-plate that hints at the gorilla. Moore continued, "Man-Ape is a problematic character for a lot of reasons, but the idea behind Man-Ape we thought was really fascinating ... It's a line I think we're walking, and hopefully walking successfully."^[37] To further differentiate the Jabari, Duke spoke a version of the Nigerian Igbo language rather than the Xhosa language spoken by other Wakandans.^[16]: 23

Winston Duke

as N'Jobu: T'Chaka's brother and Killmonger's father.^[18][39]

Sterling K. Brown

as Ramonda:
T'Challa and Shuri's mother, the Queen Mother of Wakanda.^[40] Ramonda serves as an adviser to T'Challa for when he would otherwise have turned to his father.^[19] Bassett wore a silver, waist-length wig for the role that was made from 120 pieces of hair hand-rolled into dreadlocks.^[16]: 22 Calliet also served as Bassett's trainer before and during filming, creating high-intensity interval training circuits and helping to craft her diet.^[26]

Angela Bassett

as Zuri:
An elder statesman of Wakanda and the keeper of the heart-shaped herb.^[19][35] Coogler called Zuri a religious and spiritual figure, referencing the spirituality of Wakanda from the comics, and compared him to Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars series. Zuri is also a "major tie back" to T'Chaka for T'Challa.^[41] Denzel Whitaker, who is not related to Forest, plays a young Zuri.^[18]

Forest Whitaker

as Ulysses Klaue:
A South African black-market arms dealer, smuggler and gangster^[10][42] who is allied with Killmonger.^[13][19] Klaue uses a segment of advanced Wakandan mining equipment as a sonic disruptor arm-cannon that serves to replace his left arm, which was lost in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).^[43] Boseman described Klaue as a threat to Wakanda, one of the few outsiders to enter the country, and someone with access to vibranium. He compared the character to Osama bin Laden.^[44] Serkis added that in addition to his desire for vibranium, Klaue is motivated by a "personal" vendetta against T'Challa, and "to expose what he thinks is the hypocrisy of Wakanda".^[45]

Andy Serkis

"" and "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?", episodes of the MCU television series What If...? that reimagine some events of this film

What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?

List of Afrofuturist films

List of black films of the 2010s

Official website

at IMDb

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