Joe Robert Cole has had great success with the FX series The People Vs. O.J. Simpson but he's currently writing Ryan Coogler's Black Panther film, something a lot of fans are highly anticipating. Hear what he had to say about his approach to the fictional African country of Wakanda and where it stands in the Marvel cinematic universe.
Black Panther is set for release February 16, 2018 and so far star Lupita Nyong'o is the only one giving out any kind of concrete information on the movie. The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira recently joined the cast which already includes Chadwick Boseman in the title role, Michael B. Jordan, and Florence Kasumba.
Speaking to /Film Cole, previously took part in Marvel”s writer program, praised Boseman's work in Captain America: Civil War and felt his presence was a great introduction to the character.
“Our standalone movie will begin shortly after Civil War ends. So we”ll be able to see him mourning and him starting to take command as king of his own nation. Lots of things are going to occur within regards to that,” Cole told them. “The country will be under threat from inside and out so we”ll learn what Wakanda is, that nation, as the most technologically advanced nation on the planet. Also, as Wakanda”s rise to prominence happens, it will affect the MCU moving forward which is really exciting.”
In a lot of fiction, the continent of Africa is unfortunately depicted as one homogeneous place when in fact it's made up of many different cultures. But considering Wakanda is a fictional place, Cole explained some of their thinking on how to approach it in the film.
“Africa is such a huge nation. There are so many countries, each of them with different histories, mythologies, and cultures but what we tried to do was hone in on some of the history, some of the cultural influences and then extrapolate out in our technology, extrapolate out in how we see Wakanda and the different parts of the country and the culture of the country as well,” he said.
He added that they wanted to root Wakanda in reality first and build from there so it would feel authentic. I can't wait to see what it looks like. Cole also briefly touched on Marvel's recently bumped Inhumans which he was rumored to be writing saying, “There is not an Inhumans script yet so I”m not sure how that will be moving forward.”