In a packed Captain America: Civil War, Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa stood out from the crowd, drawing both critical praise and fan adoration. Next February, audiences will get to see him lead a movie of his own. Today, Marvel released the first trailer for Black Panther, which is slated for a February 16, 2018 release. Already Twitter is abuzz with praise for the film's visuals and cast, as well as eager speculation over the plot itself. Even with months left before the film's release, the hype is incredibly, incredibly real. Below are twelve things that the trailer revealed that excited us the most.

Wakanda World-Building

Director Ryan Coogler and cinematographer Rachel Morrison look to have outdone themselves crafting the rich and beautiful world of Wakanda. The trailer is striking not only in it's use of color but also in the way it visually establishes Wakanda. The culture of the country easily comes through in this one teaser alone, and one can only imagine how magnificent it will be in the final film. The blend of tradition and technology is well-balanced, and the production design is equally stellar. Much like the world of Asgard and then nine realms in the Thor films, Coogler and the Black Panther team faced a challenge in bringing the fictitious Wakanda to life. It seems they have more than risen to the challenge.

Costume Design

Another stunning element of the visuals in the trailer was the standout costume design. From Erik Killmonger's (Michael B. Jordan) armor to the regalia worn by Wakandan leaders, such as the pictured above character played by Isaach De Bankolé, the costumes match the setting perfectly. The costumes were designed by Ruth E. Carter, a two-time Academy Award nominee who's work ranges from historical films such as Amistad, Malcom X, and Selma to genre films such as Serenity. She has most definitely outdone herself here, and the film looks to have Marvel's most stunning costumes yet. Could some awards season buzz for costume design be in the movie's future?

Wakandan Technology

One of Wakanda's greatest secrets is that it is perhaps the most technologically advanced country in the MCU's. This is due in part to Wakanda having a rich store of vibranium, the metal that makes up Captain America's (Chris Evans) shield. Audiences got a taste of Wakandan technology in Civil War with T'Challa's powerful Black Panther suit, but Black Panther will bring a new level of futuristic technology to the Marvel 'verse. There's a reason that Ulyesses Klaue (Andy Serkis) says that the country was called El Dorado by explorers. Of course, not everything is perfect in Wakanda....

Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger

The trailer gave us a first look at Michael B. Jordan's villainous turn as Erik Killmonger, an exile from Wakanda determined to overthrow T'Challa's rule. This marks the third time that Jordan and Coogler have teamed up; they previously worked together on Fruitvale Station and Creed. An Entertainment Weekly article on the trailer said that Coogler is hesitant to reveal the background for Killmonger yet, but that in the comics it is one of the darkest villain origin stories. Marvel movies have often struggled with crafting compelling villains to match their heroes, but between Jordan's talent and that tease, Killmonger might emerge as one of Marvel's most frightening and effective villains. He's also not the only villain to appear in the trailer; we get a brief glimpse of Winston Duke as M'Baku/Man-Ape, as well as M'Baku and Killmonger locked in combat. T'Challa will need all the help he can get to take on this crew of villains.

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Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia

Luckily, T'Challa's allies seem formidable. Most notably, we see Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, a member of the Dora Milaje and rumored love interest for the king. After winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for 12 Years a Slave, Nyong'o has taken a variety of roles that demand heavy CGI such as her turns as Maz Kanata in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi and Raksha in The Jungle Book. It will be refreshing to see her take on a leading lady role in a franchise film such as this, especially with the promise of her having multiple action scenes and a romance with Boseman's T'Challa. In fact, this might be the Marvel film with the most female characters, especially considering the next item on our list.

The Dora Milaje

The Dora Milaje have already stolen the show once before when Florence Kasumba's Ayo told Scarlett Johansson's Natasha "move or you will be moved" in Civil War. The all-female team of bodyguards dedicated to protecting their king are highlighted throughout the trailer. We see Ayo in battle, and also get a glimpse of Danai Gurira's Okoye during Klaue's interrogation. Marvel has never been particularly good with female characters; for the most part they adhere to either the Smurfette Principle and make the sole major female character a love interest, or they sideline their women in favor of male characters' development; these women are also overwhelmingly white, with very few women of color present in the films. Black Panther looks to shatter those tropes, featuring multiple strong female warriors, all played by black women,  who will most likely be as complex as their male counterparts. Already, the film feels like a breath of fresh air.

The Royal Family and Allies

Help will also come from T'Challa's family, as well as their multiple allies. Pictured above is Letitia Wright's Suri, an innovative inventor and T'Challa's sister who will help her brother fight for their country. Wright took the role as she felt Suri would be an important role model for young black girls. Also glimpsed in the trailer is Angela Basset as Ramonda, T'Challa's mother, and Daniel Kaluuya of Get Out fame as W'Kabi, an advisor and confidant to T'Challa. Unlike other Marvel heroes, who prefer to go at the fight alone, T'Challa looks to be relying heavily on his family, friends, and allies, proving that being alone isn't always the best way to be. The star-studded cast might be Marvel's strongest yet, featuring some of the finest actors working today, including the star of our next item...

Forest Whitaker as Zuri

Every great hero needs a mentor. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) had Yinsen, Steve Rogers had Dr. Erskine, and T'Challa has Zuri, played by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker. Whitaker is no stranger to franchise films, having just been featured in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as rebel leader Saw Gerrera. His role in Black Panther will also draw comparisons to Star Wars, as Coogler describes him as being the Obi-Wan to T'Challa's Luke Skywalker. Hopefully, Zuri will survive until the final reel, rather than sacrifice himself to help T'Challa. Whitaker's casting rounds out a stellar cast of new characters who will hopefully become as iconic as the rest of Marvel's cast of heroes, villains, and everyone in between.

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Returning Faces

Of course, a few familiar faces will be featured in the film as well. Andy Serkis first appeared as Klaue in Avengers: Age of Ultron as a smuggler and black market arms dealer who lost an arm to the titular villain. Martin Freeman made his Marvel debut in Civil War as Everett K. Ross, a member of the Joint Counter Terrorism Center. Here, they face off in an interrogation where Klaue reveals he knows far more about Wakanda than Ross could ever dream. While this scene is set in Korea, both men will make it to Wakanda as evidenced in the trailer. Outside of their appearances towards the beginning of the teaser, what purpose they'll serve in the story is being kept under wraps for now.

The Mysterious Plot

The teaser did exactly what it needed to do: tease the star-studded cast, rich world, and action scenes of the film. However, details of the plot are mostly hidden for now. We know that the film will center on T'Challa as the new king of Wakanda, and the various villains who are fighting to depose him. But little is known of the plot outside of that. Marvel is notoriously secretive, so it makes sense the majority of the plot would be kept under wraps until closer to the film's release date. That leaves plenty of time for speculation about how Killmonger, Klaue, and M'Baku will all fit together as the main villains of the piece, as well as what T'Challa's main journey will be. We have a lot of new pieces to the puzzle, but the full picture is still a mystery.

Action Scenes

What we do know is that this film will definitely have all the action fans expect from a Marvel movie. The trailer teases fight scenes between M'Baku and Killmonger, Killmonger and the Dora Milaje, and T'Challa and several masked gunmen, as well as more. Whether T'Challa will face off against Killmonger remains to be seen, but it looks like everyone will be getting their fair share of action in the film. Even Basset worked with a trainer, so we'll most likely see Ramonda take a stand as well. The action scenes in the teaser seemed clear and exciting, and hopefully the fights will stand out rather than drag the film down. Coogler's talent as a director means that we will no doubt get an equal blend of humanity and action as well. Hopefully the action scenes will carry emotional weight and actual stakes, rather than just be rock-em, sock-em knockouts.

T'Challa's Journey

Can a good man face evil and take leadership of a country while still keeping his heart pure? That seems to be the question at the heart of Black Panther. Civil War established that T'Challa was not only a skilled fighter but a strong leader, and the voiceover in the teaser states that T'Challa is a good man with a good heart but also "it is hard for a good man to be king." From that, we can speculate that T'Challa's emotional journey in the film will center on him struggling to keep true to himself while stepping up as Wakanda's new king. The film will most likely forgo origin story tropes to focus instead on T'Challa's struggle and that will set it apart from other first films in franchises. The emphasis on T'Challa being a good man is also a relief; heroes with hearts of gold are far more interesting than heroes who forgo goodness in favor of brooding. Coogler and fellow screenwriter Joe Robert Cole seem to have set themselves up for success.

What excited you most about the Black Panther teaser? Are you looking forward to seeing a new king rise? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to check in with Screen Rant for more information about the film as it is released.

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