ROTTEN TOMATOES: Will Black Panther Appear in "Fantastic Four 3"?

Will Black Panther Appear in "Fantastic Four 3"?

by Scott Weinberg | May 09, 2007

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Director Tim Story is apparently a big comic book geek, so when he got his hands on the "Fantastic Four" property, he immediately began running through all the supporting characters. And since we got Silver Surfer in Part 2...

...is there a chance we might see the hero known as Black Panther in Part 3? Could be, if Story has his way. Those with long memories might recall that Wesley Snipes wanted to do this movie for the longest time, but since he's off making moving in Bulgaria while dodging the tax man, it's safe to say he won't be near a big-budget Marvel franchise for a little while.

Anyway, here's what Mr. Story told the L.A. Times: "I've got to tell you, to get the Fantastic Four and turn it into a franchise, the first thing I thought was, 'Will I get the Silver Surfer'? Or someone like Black Panther, who was introduced in their book, get Djimon Hounsou and go do it?' But there are so many other great villains and stories - I feel like I hit the jackpot."

Can't fault the guy's casting choice. I'd probably lean more towards Chiwetel Ejiofor, but they'd both be great choices. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" opens on June 15th.

Source: IGN Movies, L.A. Times

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Movie:	The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Celeb:	Wesley Snipes
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(1-20 of 29 posts) | Reply

cgcbooks writes:
on May 09 2007 04:21 AM

I vote for Bobby Seale to play the Black Panther.

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mojodaddy writes:
on May 09 2007 05:37 AM

No I think Djimon would be awesome. Black panther is an awesomely underrated character, and it would be cool to see him on the silver screen.

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lpbreeze writes:
on May 09 2007 06:40 AM

The problem is they are assuming FF2 will make a lot of money. I'm not sure if it will because I don't know anyone who liked the first movie. It did well but so did Tomb Raider and Charlies Angels. But their sequels tanked.

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selke99 writes:
on May 09 2007 07:05 AM

I may be in the minority here but I actually liked the first Charlies Angels. Maybe my expectations were so low because I never saw the TV series. But I was so pissed at the second one I walked out of the theater during the dirtbike race. It was just too over the top.

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bigbrother writes:
on May 09 2007 07:13 AM

In reply to this comment (#864551)
I agree, Djimon is the perfect choice. Chiwetel Ejiofor I think is a bit too prissy and genteel to play a guy who's supposed to be part genius/ part tribal warrior shaman. I want to see them utilize Namor before the franchise fizzles. I always liked him better when he was a supporting player rather than in his own story.

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Merlin235 writes:
on May 09 2007 07:19 AM

It kind of amuses me that they are already thinking of making another Fantastic Four movie. Not that I'll complain, they're fun enough popcorn movies. But it isn't like it was a MASSIVE hit or anything.

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bigbrother writes:
on May 09 2007 07:25 AM

In reply to this comment (#864556)
Probably due to the fact that Marvel is producing their own movies now and for a lot of folks at Marvel there's a lot of sentimentality for FF. It was pretty much the title that saved their bacon oh so long ago.

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Now it's dark writes:
on May 09 2007 07:57 AM

Forrest Whitaker would be perfect as Black Panther.

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Vitamin M writes:
on May 09 2007 09:06 AM

Chiwetel Ejiofor! That was the bad ass villian in Serenity right? he's got my vote.
I can see the FF series being used quite well as a spring board to bring up and spin off other characters. Or at least a testing ground to see which ones may be able to handle their own film. which is a good use of the FF since the FF themselves are pretty darn boring. and maybe Tim Story would treat a black character with respect...instead of turning him into a joke as he's done with the FF.
(I was way too lazy to type out Fantastic Four apparently)

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Shatter24 writes:
on May 09 2007 11:30 AM

[b]FF 3 - villains and supporting characters[/b]
Black Panther in the third film with Namor and the Mole Man. That would be awesome. Black Panther and the Wakandans fighting Mole Man and his creatures, while the FF have to go underwater to take out Namor and his warriors. A battle underland and underwater. Who you gonna call?

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bat-fink writes:
on May 09 2007 11:42 AM

Sounds like a crap character to have in a follow up to silver surfer! Sounds like they goin backwards for the third.

Be better off having Galactus or teaming up with captain america or spiderman in the third. Maybe Ben could fight the Hulk?

And whats with Ben costume, it sucks! Looks a dogs chewd up all the sponge inside my sofa. Not very rock like, crap small eyebrows and way too small, one rare occasion where id have prefered a cgi character.

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bigbrother writes:
on May 09 2007 01:09 PM

In reply to this comment (#864558)
Emmm, No he wouldn't. I know Forest has lost a bit of weight, but he's never been what you would call cut and a pudgy guy in the Black Panther costume would just be ridiculous.

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Brad 3000 writes:
on May 09 2007 06:32 PM

Bill Cosby as the Black Panther!

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PlanBFromOuterSpace writes:
on May 09 2007 06:57 PM

[b]So, what's wrong with planning ahead?[/b]
As long as they have a decent story in mind, what's wrong with thinking ahead? That kind of thinking is a LOT better than walking in with no plan, having a successful film, and then going "Oh sh!t, what do we do now?" when faced with the possibility of a sequel, or in this case, the possibility of ANOTHER sequel. Whether there is a third or fourth or fifth FF film remains to be seen of course, but there's no harm in bouncing around ideas.

I always get a kick out of when people are surprised or can't understand when there's another sequel to a comic book movie. Yes, the talk of a possible Catwoman sequel was utterly ridiculous, and everyone knew that nothing would come of that, but in the case of something like the Fantasic Four or the Hulk, which caused mixed reactions on their way to really good box office hauls (I wish I could make movies that made 150 million bucks that "no one" liked), why do you get upset? It's not like you HAVE to see it or anything if you didn't like the first one, and if it DOES fail, it's no money out of your pocket, you know? Well, besides what you pay for your ticket maybe, but you're losin' THAT whether it does well or not.

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CannibalPenguins writes:
on May 09 2007 08:55 PM

FF3?

Didn't the first one bomb enough? FF2 will bomb earlier on, much earlier than FF did.

And FF3..They'll scrap it minutes after they see FF2's horrible opening weekend gross.

LESS THAN $30 MILLION I TELL YOU!!

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eastern2western writes:
on May 09 2007 10:46 PM

Are fantastic four the main attraction or the villains.

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blorenze writes:
on May 10 2007 01:33 PM

[b]Thank God they're considering a black hero[/b]
I know that they put out Blade, but they ran that series into the ground and barely tried with the third movie... I mean, Blade: Trinity's main point was to create momentum for a Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel spin-off.

It is kind of ridiculous how, beyond Snipes and Halle Berry, they don't put black characters into these comic book movies. I know that they are keeping with the source material, but I mean dammit, its racist. If it is a legitimately made comic book film then they'll get the fanboy dollar, and if it stars a viable black actor then they get a solid Black audience ... even from a business perspective it makes sense. Why hasn't it happened?

End White Dominance of Action-Film Stardom!!!!

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PlanBFromOuterSpace writes:
on May 10 2007 06:25 PM

[b]Since when is 150 million a bomb?[/b]
"Didn't the first one bomb enough? FF2 will bomb earlier on, much earlier than FF did.

And FF3..They'll scrap it minutes after they see FF2's horrible opening weekend gross."

I don't even understand what that first part means. Are you saying that the movie started off well and then took a turn for the worse? If you're talking about money, it makes no sense.

Does anyone that makes these kinds of comments actually read anything on this site, or do they just b!tch about things without doing any sort of research or having any other reason besides "The first movie sucked! The sequel is going to suck so bad that I'm only going to go see it ONCE and I'll only buy the 2-disc Special Edition DVD and NOT the super duper version that comes out when FF3 rolls around! Grrrr!"

So, you didn't like the movie? That's fine. But please, if a movie that cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 million that made 150 million (in the U.S. alone, before DVD sales, merchandising, and so forth) is a bomb, then explain to us what movies AREN'T bombs and why, OK?

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mjolson20 writes:
on May 11 2007 04:22 AM

[b]Wesley Snipes will be Black Panther[/b]
Wesley Snipes will be Black Panther

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Matanuki writes:
on May 11 2007 04:43 AM

In reply to this comment (#864569)
Wesley Snipes is oversees hiding from the tax man, remember? No Black Panther for him. Which is fine though. He had Blade and did a fine job with the first two. Besides, if they're gonna be bringing out more black characters then it would be nice to see different actors playing them instead of all the roles going to one guy. Djimon Hounsou is the front runner, and probably a better choice for Black Panther considering his origin story.

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