New Black Panther TV Spot Just Makes Us Want More

https://youtu.be/GpbrC4NFI5c

I can’t wait to say good riddance to 2017 for many reasons, but foremost is the need for 2018 to arrive so that we get Black Panther.

Black Panther hits theaters February 18th, 2018, and Marvel is slowly turning up the dial on the hype machine (not that we needed help getting more hyped). On December 25th a new TV spot was released, emphasizing T’Challa’s rise to the throne after his father’s death in Civil War.

While much of it is comprised of scenes we’ve seen before edited together in a new way, the spot makes clear that a large part of the movie is going to focus on the political struggle between T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and impeccably named bad guy Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan)—and their clashing visions for the future of Wakanda. Quartz on this expanded dynamic:

Killmonger, whose chest is covered in traditional patterned skin scarring found among various African tribes, is clearly after T’Challa’s (The Black Panther) throne and will collude with the enemy to do so. Judging by the trailer, it seems that the film will delve into issue of exploitation and neocolonialism as Killmonger and Klaw gun for Wakanda’s natural resources. This narrative about Africa has been written before in films from Lord of War to Blood Diamond, so it would be interesting to see how Marvel approaches the politics, while entertaining global audiences.

If you watch past the new spot in the video above, you’ll also see some of Black Panther‘s international trailers, in which there are definitely scenes that did not make it to U.S. trailers. (I can discern this because I have watched the U.S. trailers roughly twelve million times.)

This includes a view of a U.N. gathering, tech wiz Shuri (Letitia Wright) telling her brother T’Challa about the features of his new suit, Killmonger saying, “Take me to the king,” and a scene of T’Challa and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) at a fancy casino that also features more of Martin Freeman’s unfortunate American accent.

What else did you spot here that has you more ready for Black Panther than you thought was humanly possible when you woke up this morning?

(via Quartz, image: Marvel)

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