American Horror Story‘s Angela Bassett has climbed aboard the Black Panther solo movie in the role of Ramonda, mother to T’Challa, Marvel has confirmed.
The Oscar-nominated Bassett now joins a crammed ensemble comprised of Michael B. Jordan, Forest Whitaker, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba and of course, Chadwick Boseman as the would-be king of Wakanda. That’s an enviable roster of talent, and further proof that the MCU touts the ability to attract some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, while also offering a bankable springboard for newcomers looking to cut their teeth in the industry – think of Tom Holland being drafted in for the role of Peter Parker in next year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Getting back to Wakanda, though, Ryan Coogler is the director at the helm of Black Panther, having impressed across Fruitvale Station and last year’s excellent Rocky spinoff, Creed. Little is known about the story that Coogler and Joe Robert Cole are cooking up for the 2018 solo movie, but Marvelites at least have some inkling of the overarching narrative thanks to those teasing end-credits scenes included at the tail-end of Captain America: Civil War earlier this year. With another three Marvel films slated for 2017 – Guardians 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok – expect at least one of those tentpoles to shed light on Coogler’s origin story, be that in the form of some direct cameo or a post-credits sting.
Ryan Coogler will unleash Black Panther upon the moviegoing masses on February 16, 2018, which ought to act as a nice primer ahead of the launch of Avengers: Infinity War on May 4 that same year.