If you wondered if Marvel’s upcoming Black Panther was going to have every great actor person in the world attached to it, you were correct. After Thursday’s report that Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o would be joining the cast in an undisclosed role as Chadwick Boseman‘s love interest, Friday now sees the report that Michael B. Jordan has inked a deal to join the movie as a possible villain.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, which also reported the Lupita news, Jordan is set to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut with the film, directed and co-written by Ryan Coogler, with whom the actor worked in the critically acclaimed movies Fruitvale Station and Creed. It will not, of course, be Jordan’s first foray into the superhero realm, or even the Marvel Comics realm, having played Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in last year’s train wreck Fant4stic. Anybody wondering if Fox might still be hoping to do a movie with that same cast can pretty much finish nailing that coffin now. Jordan becomes the second Human Torch to jump ship to the MCU after Chris Evans.
As far as what villain Jordan could be playing in the film, scheduled for release in February of 2018, there are a few options. He could portray Erik Killmonger, a native of Wakanda who wants to rid the African nation of “white colonialist” cultural influence and turns to terrorism and aligns with Ulysses Klaw. The other one could be White Wolf, T’Challa’s adopted older brother who is the head of Wakanda’s espionage police who gets exiled for using torture tactics and assassinations. Either would be a great fit for Jordan’s abilities.
Who do you think Michael B. Jordan could play in Black Panther? What do you think of this cast so far? Let us know in the comments below!
Here’s everything you need to know about Black Panther himself!
Image: MGM/New Line
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. Follow him on Twitter!