The cast of Marvel's upcoming Black Panther movie have delved a little deeper into comic book lore to explain one of the film's biggest feuds. Although Chadwick Boseman plays the hero of the piece, it looks like our titular T'Challa will have a fair few adversaries when the film hits cinemas next February.
As a major character from the comic books, Black Panther will introduce to the notorious villain M'Baku. Although he may be better known for his villainous persona of "Man-Ape," director Ryan Coogler has promised an updated version of the character who worships the White Gorilla God. Expected to play a significant role as one of the movie's antagonists, it sounds like T'Challa and M'Baku will struggle to let bygones be bygones.
Person of Interest star Winston Duke will be playing M'Baku, and as one of Black Panther's biggest rivals, he revealed to Comic Book the source of their strife:
"Well, M’Baku is the charismatic young leader of the Jabari tribe and the Jabari tribe is one of Wakanda’s main tribes. They’ve removed themselves from the mainstream Wakandan society and they don’t really believe in the importance of vibranium to the movement of the country forwards That puts them at odds with how the country is ruled and everyone else, for the most part.”
However, it seems that Black Panther will be a case of "like father, like son," and the Jabari tribe has had a previous run-in with T'Challa's father T'Chaka:
“M’Baku and the Jabari didn’t believe in the direction that T’Chaka was pushing the country and T’Challa is a continuation of that same plan and idea and worldview. So that immediately puts him at odds.”
The version of M'Baku that we are used to from the comics moves away from the Wakandan mainstream and worships the White Gorilla instead of the widely accepted Panther God. M'Baku later takes it to a wholly different level when killing a rare white gorilla and devouring its flesh in a mythical ceremony. This turns M'Baku into the Man-Ape persona, but Duke remained coy on whether we would see this transformation during Coogler's MCU premiere:
“I think you’re going to have to wait and see...”
While M'Baku will be a cause for concern, he isn't expected to be as villainous as the likes of Michael B Jordan's Eric Killmonger, or Andy Serkis' Ulysses Klaue. That being said, Black Panther is already described as a Godfather-esque battle of the families, so it is no surprise that not everyone agrees with T'Challa's leadership skills. Find out more when Black Panther premieres on February 9, 2018.
Next: Black Panther Is An ‘Important Factor’ In Avengers: Infinity War
Source: Comic Book
