Black Panther generates huge buzz at Comic Con

FRESH details about the new Thor sequel generated buzz at the weekend, but there was another movie fans were even more excited about.

GETTING the first look at the next batch of Marvel movies has become the centrepiece of the annual pop culture fest Comic Con.

Fans weren’t disappointed on Saturday night in San Diego, California, when they got to see an action-packed trailer for the next big Marvel blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok.

But it was actually a different Marvel film that really made Comic Con attendees ecstatic.

Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman, is a new kind of superhero. Picture: Matt Kennedy/Marvel Studios

That film is Black Panther, a new kind of superhero movie that is already creating worldwide buzz thanks to its stellar cast and game-changing focus on African characters, culture and history.

Fans inside Comic Con’s hallowed Hall H were the only ones on the planet who got to see footage from the movie. Don’t bother googling the clip — it can’t be found.

Those who did see the footage gave it a standing ovation, and even the cast was blown away with what they saw, hugging and dancing on stage after their panel discussion.

Watch as the cast of Marvel Studios' "Black Panther" reacts to seeing the exclusive Hall H footage for the first time at #MarvelSDCC! pic.twitter.com/RuSYkrh1Dq

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) July 23, 2017

The anticipation for this movie is off the charts.

The teaser trailer was watched 89 million times in the 24 hours after its release and social media celebrated the distinctly African cast with the hashtag #BlackPantherSoLit.

Andy Serkis, who plays Ulysses in Black Panther and is known for portraying Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies, said the response to the footage at Comic Con had been “mind-blowing”.

“I wasn’t anticipating such a huge response, even from the trailer, but the anticipation for this movie is vast and quite rightly so. I think it’s going to be pretty extraordinary,” he told news.com.au in San Diego.

Daniel Kaluuya, who plays W’Kabi and came to prominence in the surprise smash hit Get Out, said there had never been a movie like Black Panther in Hollywood history.

“It’s an African superhero movie. This is new territory, new ground. It’s gonna change the world,” he told news.com.au.

Daniel Kaluuya says Black Panther will change the world. Picture: Alberto E Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

“It’s special and it’s got really deep themes that no one really talks about in indie films, so the fact that they’re doing it in this and getting it to a wide audience is amazing.

“The mission is to show an African story within this [superhero] aesthetic and show these characters and show the complexities of being African and being black, especially within the Western world and the world at large.”

The film places its action in an isolated African nation that has secretly developed into the world’s centre for innovation.

T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Erik Killmonger (Michael B Jordan) go head to head in Black Panther. Picture: Matt Kennedy/Marvel Studios

Co-star Winston Duke (M’Baku) pitched the film as a “globe-hopping, James Bond-esque, Afro-futurist, fun adventure”.

Much has been made of the calibre of the cast, which also includes Oscar winners Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) and Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave).

Fellow luminary Michael B Jordan, who plays Erik Killmonger, was thrilled to work with contemporaries he had long admired.

Black Panther in action. Picture: Marvel Studios

“I’ve had the pleasure of actually knowing a lot of the cast personally before I had a chance to get to set, so there was an eagerness to finally work together,” he told news.com.au.

“You see everyone in passing and it’s like, ‘One day we’ll work together’, and it usually never happens, so for this cast to get together and work together is pretty awesome.”

And while there was fun to be had off set, Jordan kept the socialising to a minimum.

Michael B Jordan talks up Black Panther at Comic Con. Picture: Alberto E Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

“Playing the villain, I didn’t really want to interact too much with the [others] so I was kinda off on my own as much as I could. It was a different process for me on this one,” he said.

Black Panther is due for release in Australia on February 15, 2018.

Okoye (Danai Gurira), Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Ayo (Florence Kasumba) in Black Panther. Picture: Matt Kennedy/Marvel Studios

This reporter travelled to San Diego courtesy of Disney, which owns Marvel Studios.

Originally published as Black Panther generates huge buzz at Comic Con