Black Panther hits theatres this weekend and is already smashing records left and right to be one of the most anticipated entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the gears of Marvel Studios shifting to focus on Avengers: Infinity War, there is still so much to talk about regarding Black Panther, particularly the film’s handling of the Infinity Stones that Thanos is on the hunt for to complete the Infinity Gauntlet, the weapon that will bring him closer to conquering the universe. It should be noted that the rest of the article will contain SPOILERS for those who have not yet seen Black Panther.
Over the course of the last ten years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has showed us five out of the six Infinity Stones. The Mind Stone, the Reality Stone, the Space Stone, the Time Stone and the Power Stone have all played a part in the movies throughout the MCU, leaving one final Infinity Stone that has yet to appear in a film: the Soul Stone. While many thought that the Soul Stone will make its debut in Black Panther, especially given the importance Wakanda plays in the climax for the trailer of Avengers: Infinity War and given Black Panther’s place as the penultimate film before it, those who have seen the film by now know that the stone does not appear in the film. While this is most certainly baffling to many fans, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler recently sat down with IGN and addressed the lack of Infinity Stones in Wakanda. Regarding the Infinity Stones, Coogler said:
“I love the Infinity Stones as much as any comic book fan, it’s just Wakanda already has its thing, which is Vibranium. For us, that was special enough, so to throw in something like another special thing didn’t feel right. It felt like we should stick with our one MacGuffin for the country and explore that, let that be the important thing because, frankly we didn’t need to have another piece like that.”
In terms of how that decision sat with the top brass at Marvel Studios, Coogler added that they supported his decision, stating that:
“Marvel Studios never really was interested in putting a stone in there, either.”
From the looks of it, the Soul Stone will debut in Avengers: Infinity War and only then will Thanos be closer to achieving his ambition.
What did you think of Black Panther? How many times will you be seeing it in the cinema? Let us know below!
The film stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Forest Whitaker, Sterling K. Brown, Andy Serkis and John Kani.
Black Panther follows T’Challa who, after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his place as King. However, when an old enemy reappears on the radar, T’Challa’s mettle as King and Black Panther is tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the entire fate of Wakanda and the world at risk.
Black Panther is in theaters now.
Source: IGN
