Is The Black Panther Marvel's Next Solo Movie?

If the rumours are to be true, then the unknown Marvel movie set for 2014 could be for The Black Panther. This makes me very excited as The Black Panther is a very cool character to bring to the big screen.

The comics were written by Stan 'The Man' Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby. He debuted in 1966 and was the first ever black superhero in mainstream American comics. If the film was to be made then this would be a first for a Marvel film to have a black character lead the show, rather than just having small parts like Samuel L Jackson and Don Cheadle have in the Marvel cinematic universe.

The origins of The Black Panther go like this; The Black Panther is the name given to the leader of the village of Wakanda. Wakanda is sitting on a large amount of Vibranium and over centuries other countries have tried and failed to invade Wakanda, every time being stopped by The Black Panther. The Black Panther has super strength, speed and stamina. These powers given to him by a special heart shaped herb. Present day's Black Panther is a man named T'Challa. Who, apart from having these super abilities, also has a PhD in Physics from Oxford University and is a trained gymnast. So this dude is pretty awesome! The idea of getting his super powers from a magical herb is slightly odd, but I'm sure that this will be written well enough to fit in to the Marvel cinematic universe.

The script is apparently being written by Mark Bailey who's recent work includes a load of documentaries.  So a strange choice but Marvel usually allow newcomers in to the picture and they haven't been wrong yet!

Though nothing is confirmed I reckon the director won't be an obvious choice when they come round to pick it. My card would be on somebody like Josh Trank (Chronicle) or Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond) to be given this role.

I also hope they go with less known lead. I would love to see John Boyega (Attack The Block) take the lead as he looks like a perfect fit for the character. Being relatively unknown will also help boost him to stardom. Though he is still quite young I think he would be an awesome T'Challa. Another person rumoured that would also be good is Adewale Akinnuoye-Abaje (Lost).

Nothing has been confirmed yet, but I think The Black Panther would be a great character to be given a solo film. Much better than the rumoured Dr Strange or Guardian Of The Galaxy movies, I just don't believe they would fit in. One things for sure, if Marvel do take a gamble on this one, then I will definitely be buying a ticket!

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Chronicle

If you have read my blog before, then you know I like superheroes. So last year when I heard that a new found footage/hand held camera film was being made about a group of friends who get powers, it had to make my most anticipated movies of 2012 list! I was looking forward to finally seeing this film but I never would have expected the scale of awesomeness that this $12 million budget movie created!

The plot goes like this; Three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery. Soon, though, they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides. It could be said that throughout this film the plot is kind of predictable, but I could never have predicted how crazy the last act of the film was going to be. Without spoiling anything, the last act looked as if it could have come from a big blockbuster movie! The effects were great as well, at the start of the film I was worried about effects after a few floating lego blocks came across as a bit naff, but the exploding helicopters look just fine!

The characters are great and very well written, which they needed to be as we don't have any demons as an excuse to turn on the hand held camera. Unlike Paranormal Activity this film doesn't only use the main protagonist's camera but anyone else who has access to their own camera, we're talking mobile phones to police CCTV footage. And because our trio of characters get telekinesis powers then they can make the camera float around them without having to hold it with their shaky hands.

The trailer for this film does not show all the best bits, in fact it shows hardly any of them. If you have not been a fan of these kind of films so far then this could be the one to turn you. And if you're already a fan then you will love this! And for those who are bored of superheroes this summer then don't worry there is no spandex in this film! It aslo makes you think what you would do if you had these powers, maybe I read to many comics but I would definitely be making my own crime fighting costume!

The director Josh Trank has created a very smart and thrilling film which out does every found footage film made before it! The effects were great and the acting brilliant, an underrated gem in a great year for film, now that it is out on DVD and Blu-Ray hopefully it will be seen by more people! I highly recommend this film! 4/5

Come back next week for my review of Prometheus!

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